


Kindred 11: The Psychopath

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: Kindred Series [11]
Category: Hanson
Genre: Blood and Torture, Brothers, Clones, Conspiracy, Gen, Genetics, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-19 01:18:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10629162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: Who will survive?





	1. Chapter 1

“So theoretically, if this were to happen…” Zac leant forward, “what legal grounds would we have?”  
“Son, we don’t have time to play make believe,” the officer looked him dead in the eye, “we are _very_ busy here.”  
“I just need to know,” Zac tried to reason, “my lawyer isn’t returning my calls right now and we-“  
He jumped as his phone rang. He quickly pulled it from his pocket as the officer rolled her eyes.  
“Texas number…” he muttered to himself before jumping to his feet, “I have to take this.”  
“Go ahead,” she gave him a sarcastic smile.  
“Yes?” he stepped away from the desk.  
“Zac it’s me.”

Zac paced the waiting room, declining to take a seat. The cab he’d asked to wait was costing more and more the longer they took. He’d already been worried that it was all a ruse so when Taylor finally made an appearance he could barely hold himself back.  
He managed to wait until his security escorts had left Taylor to it before throwing his arms around his brother.  
“Hey,” Taylor was a little wary.  
“This still isn’t a trap right?” Zac made sure, not letting him go.  
“Again, not that I’m aware of.”  
“Good,” Zac finally stepped back, “then let’s get the Hell out of here.”  
Taylor glanced back over his shoulder before following Zac outside and to the waiting cab. He hadn’t seen Jesse again, because Zac had gotten there faster than expected and he hadn’t returned from his meeting. He wasn’t sure when he’d see him again and it had him worried.  
Zac hadn’t booked accommodation anywhere, having come direct from the airport. So they headed straight back to Dallas Fort-Worth. It was a long wait for the next flight back but Isaac had already offered to collect them at any hour.  
“So what happened?” Zac couldn’t resist asking once they’d found a restaurant corner to sit in, “you had to go for tests, right? Was it like animal testing?”  
Taylor shot him a glare before getting back to reading the label on the IPA he was drinking.  
“No,” he scorned, “it was mostly body scans. It would have been boring if we weren’t you know… held against our will.”  
“Well technically you weren’t, because you went there willingly,” Zac pointed out.  
“I was still locked in a cell,” Taylor muttered, setting the bottle down.  
He eyed a nearby table as if to make sure they weren’t eavesdropping.  
“And everyone was there, which was weird.”  
“What do you mean?” Zac frowned.  
“All the clones. Everyone that was in Russia,” Taylor returned the look, “Mark was there because… I don’t know, something happened in Chicago. Carey had been transferred as we know – he’s awake by the way but both his legs are broken so he’s in a wheelchair. And-“  
“Wait, his legs are broken?” Zac cut in.  
“Yeah, and he had bandages all over him too. Whatever happened must have been pretty bad,” Taylor shrugged, “not sure if I want that story when he gets out or not.”  
“You think they’ll let him out?” Zac raised a brow.  
“They let me out,” Taylor shrugged again, “who knows at this point?”  
“Maybe they want to use you as an example so they can talk the others into staying longer by choice,” Zac looked reluctant to say.  
“Maybe,” Taylor sighed, “but it’ll be their choice. At least they have Jesse.”  
“How’s Alex?” Zac couldn’t help but feel a little worried.  
“Fine as far as I know, I only saw him once or twice,” Taylor lifted the bottle again.  
He was glad when their waitress made an appearance and it broke up the conversation. He wasn’t sure how much more he either could or would tell his brother.

Jesse was somber as he was returned to the cells later than night. He’d been gone all day, and not all of it was spent in the interview. Mark’s eyes glued to him as he came in but Jesse kept his down. With a promise that his late dinner would arrive soon, his shackles were carefully removed and his cell locked before the guards and handler took their leave.  
Mark waited only until the door closed behind them.  
“So?” he demanded, “are we fucked or what?”  
Jesse groaned as he took a seat on the bed.  
“Come on, I’ve been waiting all day,” Mark whined, “Keandre’s been waiting all day. Alex came looking for you too, _he’s_ been waiting all day. I’m sure the white coat’s going to be all over your ass about it as soon as he can too.”  
“I don’t doubt it,” Jesse’s brow rose as he stared into the empty cell next door.  
Mark paused to see if he was going to keep talking, and when he didn’t he groaned in return.  
“You know I can’t tell you anything, right?” Jesse looked over his shoulder toward him.  
“I just want to know how fucked we are,” Mark had started pacing, “are the Russians coming back for us? Yes or no?”  
“I don’t believe so,” Jesse offered.  
“Why would you think that?” Mark stopped to frown.  
“I can’t tell you,” Jesse shrugged.  
Mark hesitated before glaring and continuing to pace. Jesse watched him for a moment before returning his gaze to the other cell.  
“This is bullshit,” Mark muttered under his breath, “those assholes had a whole setup, why would they give up on us suddenly?”  
Jesse just sighed to himself, not offering an answer.  
“They went to all that trouble to fly us over there, after kidnapping us no less and that wasn’t easy either,” Mark went on, “I mean think of all the dollars that cost. They didn’t do that for nothing.”  
“It wasn’t for nothing,” Jesse assured, “they just don’t need us anymore.”  
“So what, they found someone else?” Mark scoffed, “don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other cloning projects out there, I just figured we were sorta the first.”  
He shot a glance at Keandre who was sitting up on his bed and listening as best he could. His usual blank expression didn’t give away whether he understood or not.  
“Or maybe they want to start their own,” he frowned, “but it’s the 21st century already, shouldn’t they have their own? Are they too young? Maybe they want young so they don’t have to change us as much. It can’t have been in the original plan to have to remove tatts and scars. I mean what were they going to do about you? Give you the Michael Jackson skin thing?”  
Jesse raised an eyebrow at that and Mark was just glad to get a response.  
“Compared to Alex you’re basically…red meat,” Mark shrugged, “like compared to the rest of us. Were they going to fake tan us all or…?”  
“This conversation isn’t going anywhere,” Jesse tried to reason, “maybe we should change the topic.”  
“Easy for you to say, you’ve been talking about this shit all day!” Mark scorned, “what about us?!”  
“Tough,” Jesse shrugged.  
“Tough?!” Mark’s eyes darkened.  
“I can’t tell you anything,” Jesse repeated, slower and with emphasis, “we can’t chance any of this getting out.”  
“Look around you, you moron!” Mark exclaimed, “you’re in a fucking _cage_! You think you’re going anywhere?! You think _we’re_ going anywhere?!”  
He stopped to take a deep breath, knowing there was no way to vent his anger in the empty cell.  
“This is it for us,” he shrugged, defeated, “we might as well know how we’re going out.”  
Jesse stared at him until the door opening made Mark jump. He rubbed his face and went back to sit on his bed as Jesse’s dinner was brought in. Keandre’s eyes darted between the two as the tray of food was left at Jesse’s door and the handler quickly left again. When neither of them spoke up, he did instead.  
“Are we in danger?” he asked, unsure of who to focus on.  
“No,” Jesse insisted as he fetched the tray, Mark just covering his eyes as he lay back, “we’re fine.”  
Keandre looked over at Mark, unsure if he believed him. But maybe he’d asked the question wrong. Regardless, he wasn’t going anywhere, and didn’t see the point in worrying all that much.

Taylor had to hold himself back from jumping out of the SUV before it came to a complete stop. He could already see Natalie standing at the door and all he wanted to do was put his arms around her.  
“Steady,” Zac sensed the tension, his voice bringing his brother back to reality.  
Isaac pulled to a halt at the end of the driveway and Taylor threw the door open. Natalie saw him coming and was ready.  
“Oh thank God,” she breathed once she was against his chest, “I was so worried.”  
“I know, I’m sorry,” he rested his chin on her head, “I’m so sorry.”  
“It’s not your fault.”  
When they heard the car doors closing and footsteps making their way over, they pulled apart.  
“Besides, Emma was keeping me updated as best she could,” Natalie offered.  
“Carey said something about that,” Taylor agreed, rubbing his eyes.  
“Are you okay?” she frowned when she realised.  
“Yeah I’m just tired,” he insisted, “it’s been a long couple of days.”  
“And nights,” Zac added, “but he’s back, and that’s what matters.”  
“You boys want to come in, or…?” Natalie wasn’t sure, considering the time.  
“I hate to be a bother but I really need some coffee,” Isaac hopefully clenched his teeth, “I was a little over estimating in my ability to stay awake long enough to pick them up and bring them home _and_ get home myself.”  
“It’s no bother,” Natalie held back a chuckle before turning to lead the way inside.  
Taylor took a look over his shoulder just in case before following his brothers in. The first thing he noticed were the piles of baby clothes laid out on the kitchen counter.  
“What’s this?” he frowned as she went to the coffee maker, his brothers both flanking him.  
“They’re for Ellie, duh,” Natalie scorned, “we gave all of Willa’s stuff away, remember? I had to borrow some from Kate.”  
“Lulu’s a bit big for these ones now,” Zac was looking them over fondly, “besides, I think some of them were Willa’s to begin with.”  
“And Odette’s,” Isaac added.  
“We’re suddenly swamped with girls it seems,” Natalie mused, fetching some mugs, “and about time too!”  
“Ellie’s not ours,” Taylor felt the need to correct, “she hardly counts.”  
“If Carey doesn’t come back, maybe she will be,” Isaac considered.  
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal,” Taylor countered.  
“Do you have any idea of when he’s coming to get her?” Zac’s brow rose.  
“Emma’s still not sure,” Natalie answered before Taylor could, “last time I spoke to her they were going to talk to Morris about leaving before his legs heal.”  
“Why would they bother?” Taylor frowned, “why not stay put where there’s a million doctors around in case something goes wrong?”  
“I think he just wants out,” Natalie shrugged, “can you blame him?”  
Taylor had to give her that one. He ducked around the counter to take over from her once the coffee was ready, pouring some for each of them bar Zac.  
“When did you talk last?” Isaac asked, leaning against the counter as Natalie joined their side.  
“Usually every day, but she’s missed a couple of days,” Natalie admitted, “she knew about Tay coming home though so I’m guessing we’ll hear tomorrow again.”  
“And how’s Ellie?” Zac thought to ask.  
“She’s fine,” Natalie took the mug Taylor offered, “but she’s definitely missing her parents. She knows something’s wrong.”  
“Hopefully they’re not far away,” Taylor poured his own last and set the canister back.  
“If they let you go I don’t see a reason for them to hold Carey,” Isaac shrugged after simply smelling his mug had managed to perk him up a little, “you and I were supposed to be the gold mines after all.”  
“Maybe the twins are, we don’t know,” Taylor pointed out, “who knows how Morris’ mind works?”


	2. Chapter 2

Damien was determined as he made his way toward the cells first thing in the morning. He’d left Alex and Joey at breakfast in favor of ‘taking care of business’.  
He didn’t return the guard’s greeting as he waited for the cells to be unlocked. He found the three clones inside eating their own breakfast in subdued silence.  
“What happened?” he demanded of Jesse before the door even closed behind him.  
Jesse waited until he’d swallowed before responding.  
“What do you mean?” he asked, not moving from the bed.  
“Yesterday,” Damien scowled, “don’t play dumb with me.”  
Mark was paying close attention, and Jesse noticed.  
“Are you authorised to ask that?” Jesse continued with his breakfast.  
“I’m authorised to do a lot more than ask.”  
“Show me credentials from Homeland and we’ll talk,” Jesse didn’t bother looking up again.  
Damien’s expression darkened and he turned to look at Mark. Mark just shook his head.  
“Oh we’ll talk,” he said between his teeth before storming out.  
Jesse just rolled his eyes as the door slammed. Mark pulled a face and set his food aside.  
“This is bullshit,” he muttered, “we might as well be back in Nevada.”

“So along with your memories of Ellie, you got back your seething hatred for potato,” Emma understood, “that’s going to make things interesting back home.”  
“I promise to do at least half of the cooking,” Carey put a hand to his heart.  
“If you can even get into the kitchen,” Emma indicated his legs, “and you’ll be doing more than that because I’ll be out looking for a new job once Ellie stops breastfeeding.”  
They looked up as the door opened, Morris appearing with a smile.  
“Good morning Mr and Mrs Miller,” he greeted, “how are we today?”  
“Well-”  
“We were actually hoping we could have a talk,” Carey cut her off, “about how long we’ll be here.”  
“Itching to go home I see,” Morris closed the door behind himself.  
“Something like that.”  
Emma pursed her lips, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.  
“Well, as you’re already aware, we’re quite happy to have you here as long as you are physically unable to care for yourself,” Morris came to stand at the end of the bed, “after such time we’d like to enrol you in a physiotherapy course which will work to once again strengthen your core muscles and have you walking again as soon as possible.”  
“But how long will that take?” Carey frowned.  
“We’re unsure at this time,” Morris appeared sympathetic, “we’ll do some scans once the casts have been removed to see how well the bones have healed. Best case scenario a few weeks, worst case we’ll look at available surgeries and then reassess how many months we’ll need from there.”  
“Months?” Carey’s brow rose.  
“You’re going to miss most of Ellie’s childhood this way,” Emma said under her breath.  
“I have to get home,” Carey insisted, “how long until the casts come off? Can I at least have a reprieve until then?”  
“It will be another three weeks, minimum of two,” Morris considered, “we won’t know until then how well you’ve done.”  
“So send me home for two weeks,” Carey jumped on, “it’s less strain on your resources and I’ll get a break from these four walls.”  
“And we’ll have some time as a family before he has to come back,” Emma reached over to take her husband’s hand.  
The doctor’s eyes fell to the movement. He didn’t look pleased.  
“As far as resources are concerned, the costs involved in sending you back to Los Angeles and then returning you in two weeks far outweigh the costs of keeping you well supervised and in comfort right here,” he tried to reason.  
“What if we had someone pick us up?” Emma suggested, “and drop us back whatever day you want?”  
“We don’t have anyone to do that,” Carey frowned her way.  
“We might,” she hissed.  
“In that case, we may just consider it.”  
Carey turned back in surprise.  
“But we’d need to confirm it with whomever you decide to rely on,” Morris showed concern.  
“Not a problem,” Emma insisted, “I just need to make a call.”  
“To who?” Carey was well and truly confused.

“So uh… I’ve been dying to ask all night…” Alex was playing with his food nervously as Joey was digging in to his, “how do you know so much more about this? About what’s going on here?”  
Joey paused with his mouth full before rushing to get it down faster.  
“I just mean… I know our circumstances are kinda odd and all and we’ve only even known where we came from for about two years now,” Alex went on, “but I never figured if they made more that you guys would be more clued in than we were.”  
“We didn’t leave,” Joey wiped his mouth.  
“What do you mean?” Alex frowned.  
“We didn’t like…” Joey tapped his knife as he tried to figure out how to word it, “we – or the G’s – weren’t put in the foster system until we were nine or ten years old. We’ve only been out about five years.”  
Alex paused, looking him over at that. Joey’s right eye narrowed suspiciously.  
“You must fit in well out there,” Alex guessed.  
“Some of us got adopted sooner than others,” Joey shrugged, “and some of us didn’t even go into the system. I was taken in by a couple who used to work here.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah,” he shrugged, grabbing a bread roll and stabbing it so there was a rough hole big enough to fill with butter, “bad things happen in the foster system. I was glad to be out of it.”  
“Bad things?” Alex had a feeling he knew what he meant, but he wasn’t sure they were on the same page.  
“Yeah, you turn out like Evan.”  
Joey realised he’d forgotten the butter, and without giving Alex a chance to say anything else got up to get some. Alex took the break to look around and make sure no one had been eavesdropping. The two other doctors in the cafeteria seemed too far away.  
Joey soon returned and collapsed into the chair, nearly sending it over as he did. With a quick recovery he soon had the bread in his mouth.  
“You mentioned Evan yesterday,” Alex was just watching him now, the action giving him flashbacks that were a little too close to home.  
He had definitely been a clumsy teenager himself.  
“What’s his story?”  
“The bogeyman?” Joey’s brow rose.  
“Why do you call him that?” Alex frowned.  
Joey shrugged.  
“Better than calling him ‘Psycho’. It kind of implies it could happen to any of us.”  
“But what happened to him?” Alex asked, having to wait once again as Joey filled his mouth.  
Joey thought as he chewed. He wasn’t all that sure how to say it.  
“We don’t really know,” he admitted, “if the docs know they didn’t tell us. We just know it was something bad.”  
“Bad?” Alex wondered at his definition.  
As far as he knew, something ‘bad’ had happened to every one of the C series.  
Joey shrugged.  
“Something set him off,” he eyed one of the doctors as they got up to leave, and waited until they were out of earshot again before lowering his voice, “something enough to make him go after his own series.”  
“What do you mean ‘go after’?” Alex was wary.  
“He killed them,” Joey looked him dead in the eye, “he went after his series, one by one, and killed them.”  
“All of them?” Alex’s brow furrowed.  
“Most of them,” Joey shrugged, “he got five before they knew what was going on. Another two before they could catch him.”  
“Why would he go after his own series?” Alex couldn’t understand, “why would he want them dead?”  
“Because he’s crazy,” Joey broke into a laugh, “duh.”  
“Which series?”  
“E, the one after Damien,” Joey looked over what was left of the bread and pulled a face at it.  
“How many of them are left?”  
“Including Evan… three I think. If they’re still alive,” he shrugged again, “I haven’t kept up since I got out. I’m just glad one of ours didn’t snap too.”  
He paused after saying it.  
“I wonder what’s worse… your own Evan or the Russians?”  
Alex felt his face go red at the reminder of the Russians. They hadn’t heard anything out of Jesse’s meeting with Homeland yet and they both knew Damien was on edge about it.  
“You haven’t met him yet, have you?” Joey asked suddenly, snapping him out of it.  
“Met who?”  
“Evan,” Joey’s face was blank, “he’s an interesting case study if nothing else. I mean if you’re into that sort of thing.”  
“What sort of thing?” Alex frowned again, “murder?”  
“Psychology, duh!” Joey rolled his eyes, “come on, don’t tell me you aren’t interested.”  
Alex paused and sat back a little, unsure of what he was implying.  
“Why do you ask?”  
“No reason,” Joey set the rest of the bread on his plate, “except, you know, we could. Your pass would get us in.”  
Alex took hold of it with his left hand.  
“I’ve met him before, it’s kinda fun,” Joey played it down, “he’s interesting. Like I said, a case study. Something to think about if you’re starting to get bored being Dae’s pet.”  
Alex blanched at the last comment. Over the past few days he’d likened himself to being Damien’s pet. He couldn’t really go anywhere or do anything without him and he was always under surveillance. He hadn’t even bothered accessing the internet where they said he could just because he knew they wouldn’t let him do what he wanted to with it.  
The analogy, while making him a little annoyed, did point out that he needed something new to focus on.  
“What do you say?” Joey was waiting, his leg twitching in anticipation.  
“Sure, I guess,” Alex shrugged, “if we won’t get in trouble for it.”  
Joey beamed as if Alex had just given him parental permission to party all night.  
“Great! We should go now!”

Natalie groaned as she heard her cell phone vibrating on the bedside table, feeling Taylor pull his arm from around her as she leant up to reach for it. Taylor rubbed his eyes enough to check the time before throwing the covers off and pulling himself out of bed.  
“Hello?” Natalie’s eyes hadn’t focused enough to see the caller ID yet.  
“Natalie hi, it’s Emma… are you okay?”  
“I’m fine, we were just sleeping in,” her eyes followed her husband as he headed for the bathroom, “the guys got in late last night. Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, fine,” Emma quickly brushed over, “sorry for waking you up. Um… Morris gave us an offer and I was hoping you could help us with it.”  
“What is it?” Natalie sat up, turning the lamp on.  
“He said Care could go home if we could organise someone to pick him up and bring him back in two weeks. Because we don’t know what kind of therapy he’s going to need after we figured we should jump on this chance for him to spend time with Ellie.”  
“Of course, of course,” Natalie agreed.  
“So I know you guys only just made the trek to fetch Taylor, but… any chance of a lift for a guy with two broken legs?”  
Natalie wasn’t awake enough to immediately comprehend who she was talking about, but once she got it she nodded to herself.  
“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised as Taylor emerged from the bathroom again, “does he have a wheelchair?”  
“I’m hoping we can commandeer one from here if we get a ride.”  
“Okay well… I’ll talk to Zac and see what he says. Can I call you back on this number?”  
“Um… I may not be here to answer it, but I’ll call back as soon as I get to the phone again. Is that okay?”  
“Sure thing,” Natalie nodded.  
“Thank you! Say hi to Ellie for me!”  
“I will. Bye Emma.”  
Taylor was standing at the end of the bed, waiting for the call to end. Once Natalie hung up she set the phone aside and looked up at him.  
“The Millers might be coming to get Ellie,” she informed him, his eyebrows going straight up, “if… we can get them a ride.”  
“Carey’s coming here?” Taylor checked.  
“If we can get him a ride?” Natalie grit her teeth before her expression suddenly changed, “we’d better check on the kids. I left Ezra in charge of Ellie.”


	3. Chapter 3

“G7 has arrived down at reception.”  
Damien looked up tiredly from where he’d been taking notes from a chart.  
“We can’t find Morris. Should we put him in holding?”  
“No,” Damien frowned, “we don’t want the C series contaminated. Take him to level two.”  
He paused, trying to think.  
“I believe Morris had a meeting with C2 this morning. I’m sure he’ll confirm once he’s released.”  
“Sure,” the handler gave him a nod before leaving the room.  
Damien tapped his pen against the clipboard, wondering if it had been the right idea. But without Morris to confirm or deny he wasn’t about to dwell on it.  
Just as he was about to get back to it, a second shadow appeared in the doorway.  
“ _What_?” he asked between his teeth, now getting annoyed.  
“I can’t get hold of Morris,” the guard thumbed over his shoulder.  
“I’m aware. What is it?”  
The guard stopped to catch his breath before responding.  
“We heard back from the scout in Arkansas. There was an incident at the hospital with G10.”  
Damien set the clipboard down and sat up straighter.  
“What is it?” he repeated, taking in the guard’s expression.

“Are you sure about this?”  
“It’s cool,” Joey insisted, leading the way, “I’ve been here before.”  
“You have?” Alex was picking at his nails as he walked.  
“Hey,” Joey ignored him, greeting the guard in the corridor, “we’re here to see Evan.”  
The guard stared down at him for a moment before looking across to Alex.  
“He’s allowed,” Joey insisted, “show him your pass!”  
Alex fumbled with the lanyard and held up the pass. The guard stepped forward to inspect it.  
“Bell, Alexander…” he said aloud, “isn’t that a scientist?”  
“Yeah, actually,” Alex perked up a little, “and inventor. He worked with the deaf and with acoustics and he’s pretty much responsible for the way we perceive and treat hearing loss in-“  
“And the phone, right?” Joey cut in.  
“Yeah… and the phone,” Alex sobered.  
“I learnt that in school,” Joey beamed proudly.  
The guard looked Alex over again, and it suddenly struck Alex as to why. He may have worked out that he was a clone already but it didn’t mean all clones had access to Evan. It made him feel a little less like he was being targeted.  
“Okay,” the guard dropped the pass, “you boys aren’t carrying pens or anything sharp, metallic or wiry?”  
“Nope,” Joey answered for them both, Alex’s brow furrowing in worry.  
“Good. Don’t take too long, and don’t stir him up.”  
He stepped back and entered a code into the lock on the door. Joey gave Alex a satisfied smirk as the door opened for them, the guard holding it as they stepped through.  
“Thanks,” Alex gave him a nod as he passed.  
The door closed behind them and it left an odd echo. Joey didn’t hesitate, heading right for the cell in the far corner. Alex paused to take in the room. At first glance it looked like an old tiled surgery that had been converted into an empty storeroom. But what remained on the shelves gave away a different story. There were a mix of restraints, medications, and paper records. Before Alex could dwell on them Joey’s voice snapped him out of it.  
“Hey, long time no see!”  
His eyes went to the cell. It was an odd shape. The main cell was a square with a smaller square off to the side. The ‘side cell’ offered a basin and shower. The main cell held almost exactly what the other cells did, only with more room.  
The cell was barred, not plexiglass.  
Evan had been sitting on the bed, only his eyes following Joey as he came toward the cell’s door. At Alex’s quick glance he could have sworn he saw dust on the locks.  
“Joey?” his voice made Alex stop in his tracks.  
It was different. He wasn’t sure how.  
Evan stood from the bed and came to the door. Seeing him properly now, Alex could easily tell the age difference.  
He looked far too young to have done any of the things Joey had told him about.  
“You’re big,” a smile crossed Evan’s face, “how long has it been?”  
Joey paused to calculate.  
“Four years,” he replied, “and a bit.”  
Alex blanched. That meant Evan had been even younger when it had happened.  
“Where did they send you?” Evan leant against the bars.  
“No offence, but I’m not gonna tell you that. Hey look! I brought someone who wanted to see you!”  
Evan’s eyes moved to Alex. A curious look crossed his face.  
“You’re not Damien,” he moved closer to the bars, his hands curling around them as he stared, “you’re old.”  
Alex’s eyes darted to Joey before he put his hand to his chest.  
“Alex,” he introduced.  
“Alex…” Evan was looking him up and down.  
It almost got to the creepy stage before he turned back to Joey instead.  
“From the C series?”  
“You bet.”  
Alex started chewing on his lip nervously and he quickly folded his arms.  
“We thought you were all gone,” Evan’s eyes returned to him, “or we were _told_ you were all gone.”  
“They tracked them down,” Joey informed him, “they’re still testing them.”  
“All of them?” Evan’s eyes narrowed.  
“The ones still alive. I think there’s six?”  
“Seven,” Alex corrected.  
“And they’re all here?” Evan frowned.  
“I think so?”  
“They’re calling us back too,” Joey admitted, “there’s Russians after us now.”  
“Should we be telling him that?” Alex lowered his voice.  
“Who’s he gonna tell?” Joey shrugged.  
“Russians, huh?” Evan’s eyes darted between them, “what do they want?”  
“Don’t know. They took the C series first and now they’re taking mine.”  
“They weren’t happy that we didn’t look very alike,” Alex admitted, “maybe they think the G series will.”  
“You don’t look alike?” Joey turned back, confused.  
“Nature versus nurture,” Evan understood, looking Alex over again, “they were stolen at the foetal stage. We weren’t.”  
“Not really stolen,” Alex hugged himself a little tighter.  
“That’s your point of view I guess,” Evan corrected, “but I have the legal definition behind me. You’re not meant to be alive right now.”  
“Evan doesn’t think any of us should be, don’t take it personal,” Joey quickly jumped in, “he’s against the whole program.”  
“I’m against people playing God,” Evan corrected.  
“This has been interesting, but I think we should go…” Alex didn’t like the turn the conversation was taking.  
“Come closer,” Evan gave Alex a nod, “I want to see what they mean.”  
“I don’t think so,” Alex shook his head.  
“He’s not going anywhere,” Joey pointed out, “he can’t hurt you.”  
“I just want a closer look at what I’m in for if I’m here for another… how old are you?” Evan frowned.  
“Thirty-four,” Alex frowned in return.  
“If I’m here for another ten years,” Evan amended, “you don’t look like you’ve seen much daylight.”  
“You’ve been down here the whole time?” Alex had guessed, but wanted to confirm.  
While Joey had said he was a good case study for psychology, Alex had to wonder about the repercussions of his isolation. He didn’t look all that put out by it.  
“Five years and counting,” Evan nodded, “and like he said, I’m not going anywhere.”  
“You seem oddly at peace with that,” Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly.  
“I haven’t spent my life running like you have,” Evan reasoned, “I spent my first ten years in a cell. This is no different. Come closer.”  
Alex’s eyes went to Joey, who indicated for him to join him just a few feet from the bars. Alex took a deep breath in order to psych himself up for it, but figured he had no plans to ever come back down here if he could help it.  
He took a step forward. Evan’s eyes roamed once again, soon settling on his face.  
“Why do you wear glasses?” he asked, “none of the others wear glasses.”  
“Some do, just not full time,” Alex offered, “I spent a lot of time indoors though, looking at computer screens. There was a lot of degeneration over a few years. More than a few years I guess…”  
Evan was staring again, and Alex fell silent when he realised. He was about to take a step back when Evan’s hand suddenly shot out from between the bars. Before he could flinch backward Evan had taken a strong hold of the lanyard and pulled Alex in to the bars with a loud clatter.  
“Uh oh. SECURITY!” Joey screamed, running for the door.  
Alex had trouble grabbing for the bars, the pull on his neck holding him fast against them. He couldn’t gain enough leverage to push himself away.  
Evan was breathing calmly near his right ear.  
“You stink of fear and self-loathing,” his voice came through low and sinister, “but when the time comes I'll spare you.”  
His heart pounding now, Alex’s adrenaline managed to kick in just as the lanyard gave way. Evan ended up with the pass in his hand just as the guard appeared, throwing his baton through the bars and igniting the taser in the end. Evan convulsed as Alex quickly backed away.  
“Come on!” Joey grabbed his arm in order to pull him from the room.  
“He has my pass!” Alex’s voice cracked, his hand going to the empty string.  
“We’ll get another one!”  
Alex looked back in time to see Evan hit the floor, the guard not giving up his assault. He made no move to open the cage. Joey pulled him back through the open door and quickly closed it behind them both.  
“That was close,” he stopped in the hall for a breather, his face swollen red.  
“He wasn’t hurting me,” Alex frowned, pulling what was left of the lanyard from his neck and coiling it in his hand.  
“Only because he didn’t have time to,” Joey insisted, “I’m sorry. Please don’t tell Damien it was my fault.”  
Alex’s brow furrowed incredulously at that. He had no other possible explanation to use.  
“Please?” Joey begged.  
“We’ll think of something,” Alex’s head was spinning too much in the moment, “how do we get out of here?”

“So I called Natalie…” Emma trailed off awkwardly as she returned to Carey’s room, seeing Morris still there.  
He’d been taking Carey’s blood pressure and writing some notes.  
“Yeah?” Carey’s brow rose, inviting her to go on.  
“She’s going to try and organise for someone to come pick us up,” she decided to leave the door open in the hopes that Morris would soon leave them alone, “she’s going to call back so I just need to check my phone every now and then.”  
“We’ll be a while longer here if you’d like to take some time,” Morris offered, not looking up from his work, “we’ll be running some tests on Carey to see how well the memory therapy has worked and if we’ll need to revisit it sometime.”  
“It sounds more exciting than it is,” Carey assured, “it’s going to take forever.”  
“I don’t know…” she didn’t really want to leave him on his own, “I don’t have anything else to do.”  
“I’m sure Alex would appreciate some company,” Morris suggested, “you won’t be allowed to access his level, but I can certainly invite him up here for you.”  
“That’s okay,” Emma shrugged, “there’s some people I should probably call.”  
“Take a seat,” Carey offered, catching her unease, “prepare to be dazzled with paperwork.”  
“The review may be more accurate without distraction,” Morris warned him.  
“I’m her husband, there’s no one better at ignoring her,” Carey assured.


	4. Chapter 4

Taylor jolted awake later in the day. He’d been sitting on the sofa and a loud noise had startled him. It took him a moment to register that he was home and safe.  
“Sorry,” Natalie’s voice came from the other side of the room, “I was just trying to-“  
Right on cue, Ellie started crying.  
“Sounds like I’m not the only one who was napping,” Taylor mused, rubbing at his eyes.  
“I sent the kids outside in case they woke her and I’ve gone ahead and done it instead,” Natalie grunted, moving over to the side of the couch where the makeshift crib had been set up for the day.  
Taylor watched on tiredly as she lifted Ellie into her arms and started trying to soothe her. As she started pacing she happened to look down.  
“Damn,” she muttered.  
“What?” Taylor looked in the direction she was.  
“There’s a bunch of missed calls from Zac and Kate. Can you call him back before she settles again?”  
Taylor reached over for the cell phone, seeing that she was right. He cleared his throat and called Zac back.  
“Finally!”  
“I was asleep,” Taylor defended, “and… I don’t know what Nat was doing.”  
“I was asleep too. Remember how we drove all night? Remember who actually did the driving?”  
“What is it Zac?” Taylor closed his eyes again.  
“Nice way to suck up from someone who wants a favor.”  
Taylor frowned in confusion before his brain made the connection.  
“You’re gonna do it?” he was surprised.  
“Unless you have plans to get back to work in the next two days.”  
“Probably not going to happen,” Taylor admitted, “I feel like I need to sleep for a month.”  
“Yeah. I know the feeling.”  
“Are you actually offering to do this? Because it sounds like you just called to bitch about the idea,” Taylor had to check as Natalie started to hush him.  
“I am offering. Most likely because I’m delusional from lack of sleep. Tell Natalie to tell Emma I’ll be in Dallas tomorrow.”  
“Tomorrow?” Taylor’s brow rose, “that soon?”  
“I’m going to be awake all night again I might as well be driving.”  
Taylor looked up at Natalie who was just watching him now.  
“Be careful,” he insisted.  
“You’ll be hearing from me, don’t you worry.”  
Zac hung up suddenly and Taylor dropped the phone onto the couch to rub his face again.  
“What was that all about?” Natalie was frowning.  
“He’s going to pick up Carey,” Taylor replied, “and… he’s leaving tonight.”  
“Tonight? Is he-“  
“Don’t ask,” Taylor insisted, “how is she?”  
“Sleeping like a lamb,” Natalie smiled slightly, “but I have that feeling of dread that tells me if I put her down it’s her signal to wake up again.”  
“Hand her over,” Taylor held his arms out.  
“Are you sure?” Natalie’s eyes narrowed.  
He hadn’t offered to hold her yet. In fact, he’d actively avoided it.  
“I’m sure,” he insisted, “but you’d better start dinner.”  
“Deal.”  
Natalie carefully passed Ellie down to him, and once they were comfortable she fetched her phone and disappeared. Taylor quickly checked her over before settling into a quiet hum.

The moment Morris left the room, Emma punched Carey in the shoulder.  
“OW!” he recoiled, his injured hand going to hold it.  
“You deserve that,” she scowled.  
“I know I do, but I didn’t think you’d hurt a cripple!” Carey defended.  
Emma rolled her eyes before standing from her seat.  
“You’re going?” his brow rose, continuing to rub his arm.  
“I was waiting for him to leave.”  
“You don’t have to, you know,” Carey insisted, “we’re fine. He hasn’t done anything questionable.”  
“Yet,” Emma grit her teeth, “you obviously haven’t got all your memories back yet. You _hated_ him!”  
“I don’t,” he admitted, “but did I hate him because of something he did, or because I was scared?”  
Emma paused at that, not entirely sure herself. But she did know one thing for sure.  
She leant over the side of the bed to make sure he was listening intently.  
“You were out for a jog one morning when you were hit over the head and abducted off the street,” she stared him in the eye, “you woke up with your hands tied in a wire cell. They refused to let you go unless you let yourself be tested, be tagged with a GPS tracker, and signed a contract saying they could do it again. That wasn’t a nightmare, that was _real_ , and it was because of _him_.”  
“I don’t remember that,” Carey shook his head.  
“And I’m glad you don’t,” Emma insisted, “but the rest of us do, and because we do remember we know what this guy is capable of.”  
She stood again and began to make her way to the door.  
“You’re going to leave me with that?!” his brow furrowed, “really?!”  
“You’re the one that doesn’t have a problem with him,” she shrugged, opening the door, “you’ll be fine.”  
He bit his lip as the door closed behind her before rolling his eyes and falling back onto the pillow.  
Don’t panic, don’t panic…

“Where have you been?!” Damien demanded, “everyone’s been trying to reach you! You need to keep your pager on when you’re onsite!”  
“I had it on, but I was busy,” Morris responded calmly, “Carey will be leaving us soon.”  
Damien paused, frowning.  
“What?” he wasn’t sure he’d heard right.  
“He’ll be back in two weeks to have his casts removed,” Morris assured, “now what can I help you with?”  
Damien shook himself off before checking his watch.  
“This morning the hospital holding G10 in Arkansas was infiltrated,” he spat out, “he was killed. We’re waiting for the security footage for review but early reports are telling us he was shot.”  
“The media?” Morris finally looked up.  
“Contained so far,” Damien assured, “but we’re sending a team out in case other patients decide to talk.”  
“Have the body shipped back at first opportunity,” Morris returned to his notes, “and let me know if you see any Russians in that footage.”  
“Are you sure?” Damien scowled, “the fact that we’re dropping like flies isn’t interrupting your love fest with the C series, is it?”  
Morris sighed and set his pen down.  
“Do we need to talk in private?” he didn’t look up.  
“Why bother?” Damien scoffed, turning to leave.  
Morris frowned after him before getting back to his work.

Mark arrived back in the cells well before dinner, having been for more scans. Before the handler left he promised a visit from Morris before the night was through which actually put him on edge a little.  
“What do you think he wants?” Jesse asked, purely from boredom.  
“How should I know?” Mark shrugged before collapsing onto the bed, “but I think they’re running out of tests to do. It’s been all day every day.”  
Jesse nodded in agreement.  
“Maybe they’ll start on Keandre soon,” he suggested.  
“Maybe.”  
Mark didn’t have time to doze before Morris made his appearance, looking a little dishevelled.  
“Good evening,” he greeted all three of them, “I trust you’ve had an easy day.”  
No one replied, but Mark sat up as the doctor made his way to his cell.  
“Mark,” he gave him a nod.  
“What’s the diagnosis, Doc?” Mark raised a brow.  
“Nothing deadly,” Morris mused.  
“Is that another joke?” Mark frowned.  
“In all seriousness…” Morris continued, “we have three more tests for you to complete, and then we’ll need to start thinking seriously about your future.”  
Mark paused at that before diverting his eyes. He knew exactly what he meant.  
“We are happy to return you to either Chicago or Los Angeles of course, it’s your choice.”  
“What about elsewhere?” Mark raised a brow.  
“It’s your choice,” Morris repeated, “wherever you’d like.”  
“I gotta think about it,” Mark admitted, “can I talk to Carey?”  
“I’ll see about getting you a line with him before he leaves.”  
“Leaves?!” Mark frowned, “where’s he going?”  
“Tulsa, I presume,” Morris folded his hands, “the Millers are wanting some family time before he returns in two weeks to have his casts removed. Don’t worry, we’ll be keeping a close eye on everybody.”  
“Tulsa,” Mark frowned to himself thoughtfully.  
“Just wanted to touch base with you,” Morris pulled him back, “your nightly meal will be in shortly.”  
He turned to cast a glance in Jesse’s direction before giving Keandre a nod and making his way out. Mark rubbed his face worriedly as his mind began to race.  
“What’s wrong?” Jesse asked him straight out.  
“If I go back to Chicago I’m dead,” Mark replied, “if I go back to LA I’m probably dead. I need to disappear. But I can’t leave Carey behind.”  
“Carey doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d want to disappear,” Jesse pointed out.  
“He’s not,” Mark agreed, “he’s definitely not. But maybe he’ll change his mind after what he’s already lost.”

Damien picked up on the tension in the room the moment he entered. Before completely closing the door behind him he looked between where Alex was sitting at the desk and Joey was lounging on the couch with his game.  
“What happened?” he demanded, in no mood for frivolity.  
“Alex needs a new pass,” Joey replied without looking up.  
Alex’s face flushed red and he avoided eye contact.  
“Why?” Damien’s expression darkened.  
“Evan took it.”  
There was a tense moment of silence before Damien’s brow rose.  
“ _Evan_?!” he said through his teeth, “what did I say to you about Evan?! I told you to stay away from him!”  
“That was five years ago,” Joey scoffed, “that rule expired.”  
“Rules don’t expire,” Damien scorned in return.  
“Besides, I just wanted to show Alex,” Joey defended, managing to pause his game and put it down, “he’d never met him before. It was okay! Nothing happened!”  
“Then how did he get the pass? If nothing happened?” Damien’s eyes went to Alex.  
“I got too close,” Alex finally jumped in, “he grabbed it. I’m sorry.”  
“And we weren’t exactly gonna try and get it back,” Joey pointed out, “it’s okay, it’s not like he can use it anyway.”  
Damien rolled his eyes, finally removing his lab coat and hanging it on the door.  
“Just the pass? Nothing else?” he made sure.  
“He broke the lanyard,” Alex grabbed it from the desk and held it out to show him, “the pass was all he got.”  
Damien eyed it for a moment before indicating the door.  
“Let’s get dinner,” he insisted, “I’ll inform security and tell them to keep an eye on him tonight.”  
“Why?” Joey frowned as Alex stood to follow.  
“Better safe than sorry,” Damien eyed him, “come on.”

Zac struggled to hold back a yawn, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with the road. It was well after dark and even though he hadn’t been awake for all that long now he could feel himself starting to drift off again.  
He leant over to turn up the radio. Not three seconds after he had, a call came through.  
“Oh come on,” he grumbled, turning the music off instead of down, “yeah?!”  
“Just checking in,” Natalie’s voice came through softly, “where are you?”  
“Uh…” Zac quickly checked his GPS, “I’ve only just left so I haven’t reached the I-40 yet. I’ll probably get there just before 3am.”  
“Maybe you should pull over and get some sleep?” Natalie suggested.  
“I’ll be fine,” Zac insisted, “why aren’t you in bed yet?”  
“We were, but Ellie woke up. Figured I’d call while I was up.”  
“Oh. Thanks.”  
“Take care Zac. Message one of us when you get there, okay?”  
“I will,” he promised, “but I probably won’t approach the lab until daylight at least. They probably won’t open until 8 or 9.”  
“I’ll let Tay know,” Natalie promised, “thanks Zac.”  
“You’re welcome,” he replied before ending the call.  
He sighed to himself as he wondered again why he’d offered to do this, before turning the radio back on and jumping as the music suddenly blasted him.


	5. Chapter 5

Evan bit down on the lanyard’s metal clasp between his teeth. The lights had gone out hours ago but he wanted to be sure. The night guard was due for another check-in shortly and if there was one thing he’d learnt from his time here – it was patience.  
As expected, the guard was on time. A quick check with a flashlight that Evan was on the bed and he soon moved on.  
Evan sat up on the bed, chewing to make the final adjustments to the clip. Then he stood and made his way to the cell door. He reached through to the old padlock as he took the clip from his mouth before a few attempts to blow the dust out of the lock made it about as clean as he could manage. He fumbled to get the lock into the right position but managed to slide the clip in.

The first thing he grabbed was a set of medical wrist cuffs from the shelving in his prison. They were ones he’d worn many times in his first two years of being detained and he had plans for them.  
Outside the halls were brighter than he remembered but he still knew where to go. He managed to avoid security and find his way to a sterile station quite easily, where he quickly looked over the tools and instruments that had been left for cleaning. He selected a couple of scalpels before finding a closet equipped with hazard wear and extra lab coats. He quickly threw on a lab coat and added the scalpels to the pockets. Hearing footsteps from the corridor for the first time, he ducked back into the closet and kept one eye around toward the door. He saw the silhouette of the night guard walking past, but he didn’t pause.  
It reminded him that his time was limited. The guards were supposed to check on him again at about 6am in the morning.  
Once he was sure the guard had reached the end of the hall, he slipped out of the room and headed for the opposite stairwell. He didn’t meet anybody as he made his way up, coming to rest on the third floor.  
The lights in this hall had been dimmed, but there were still many rooms brightly illuminated. He was cautious as he approached the first one on his left but relaxed when he saw the still patient on the bed. The moment he recognised the face, he made his way to the door and stepped inside.  
He stood at the end of the bed and stared for a moment. The man on the bed had a face that uniformly resembled the man he’d met the night before. He reached down to the patient chart hanging from the bed, indulging his curiosity for a moment.  
“Reis, Colin,” he said softly to himself.  
He quickly read the chart over, but he didn’t recognise most of the terminology. He put it back. With another glance at the door as he kept an ear out for any footsteps, he made his way to the chair beside the bed and collected the cushion. He turned back to Colin’s bedside and looked down at his face. To Evan it looked haggard. He didn’t know how long he’d been there, but there appeared to be no life in him at all.  
With a sigh he placed the cushion over Colin’s face and pressed downward. There was no struggle, and Evan didn’t notice a change until the nearby monitor sounded an alert. Thinking quickly he leant over to yank the wires free and send the monitor dark before returning to apply further pressure to the cushion. He watched as Colin’s chest struggled to rise and fall, before it became completely stagnant. He counted out two extra minutes before finally removing the cushion and checking for a pulse.  
“It’s never any fun when they don’t fight back,” he muttered to himself, satisfied with his findings.  
He threw the cushion aside and left the room.

Carey had been struggling to get himself into the bathroom when he heard the monitor going off in the next room. His heart skipped a beat as his first thought was that Colin was gone, but when the noise stopped he froze. He couldn’t hear anything else after it. No one appeared from the nurse station and it didn’t make the noise again.  
Figuring he’d investigate after emptying his bladder, he finally managed to pull the heavy door open and wedge the wheelchair in behind it. With a little extra grunt he made it all the way inside and let the door close behind him.

Evan could hear murmurs in the distance as he continued down the hall. He checked the room to the left finding it empty, before overhearing a low conversation from up ahead on the right. Two female voices puzzled over the lapse in Colin’s monitor before deciding to investigate. Evan ducked back into the nearby doorway as he heard her footsteps approaching, reaching into his pocket to feel where the scalpels sat at the ready. He took hold of one and spun it in his hand as he saw her shadow fall across the doorway. When he stepped out she paused at the sight of the lab coat, giving him the extra second he needed the plunge the blade into the side of her throat. Before she could react he pulled back across her windpipe, making sure she would be too busy trying to breathe to make any sound of warning. As she fell to the floor grasping at her throat he stepped past and headed for the nurse station.  
He heard the second nurse tapping away on the computer as he approached. As her colleague struggled for life behind him, Evan didn’t hesitate to step into the small office. The nurse didn’t look up.  
“So what was it?” she asked, “a glitch? We should probably get the computers checked-“  
Evan cut her throat in a similar fashion, focusing on the jugular vein as opposed to the need to keep her quiet. 

Jesse shot up in bed. The sound the bunk made caused both Mark and Keandre’s eyes to open as well.  
“What?” Mark grumbled, not bothering to look up as Keandre did.  
Jesse hushed him as he stared toward the door, trained ears taking everything in. When Mark didn’t get a response he sat himself up to look over at him. The light from the clock was just enough to see Jesse’s silhouette. He’d just opened his mouth to ask again when they heard the latch on the door move.  
“How the fuck did you hear that?” Mark whispered to himself, knowing the other two would hear anyway.  
The door opened but the lights didn’t come on. Blinded for a moment by the light from the hallway, they saw a familiar shape standing in the doorway. Before Mark could completely focus his eyes the man moved to the right and disappeared from sight.  
“What’s Damien up to at this time of night?” he frowned to himself.  
“That wasn’t Damien,” Jesse was still staring toward the door.

Carey took three deep breaths before using what strength he had left to fling the bathroom door open and wedge the left wheel of the chair into the gap.  
“Halfway there,” he grunted to himself, pausing for a breather, “and still better than a bedpan.”  
Initially he’d been doing it with help from both the nurses and from Emma, but he’d increasingly become stubborn enough to insist on doing it himself. He didn’t want to be a burden on Emma when they finally had some time away from this place.  
He managed to swing the chair into position and use his weight to push the door open, nearly toppling himself when the door spun the chair as it closed again.  
“Jesus,” he muttered under his breath as he looked back at it, before something else caught his eye.  
He froze at first, sure that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Maybe he wasn’t entirely awake yet and he was hallucinating a nightmare. But in the few seconds it took to come to his senses, he could smell her.  
His eyes went to the window. He couldn’t see anything. Willing his arms to work, he began wheeling the chair toward her. Keeping a careful eye on the door to make sure there was still no movement, he leant over as far as he could in an effort to check the woman’s pulse. He winced when he pulled his hand back and it was covered in her blood.  
He couldn’t hear anything from the hallway, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anybody there. His first logical thought had been to hit the emergency button beside his bed, but all that would do is raise the alarm in the nurses’ station. They were the ones who needed help.  
Wishing once again that he had access to a phone, he grit his teeth as he debated hiding until he could figure something out.

“It’s not going to work,” Mark scorned, watching Jesse struggle with the rosary.  
“I don’t see you trying,” Jesse responded distractedly.  
“Because it’s pointless,” Mark insisted, “these cells were made with escape artists in mind.”  
“Out?” Keandre’s voice made them both look up.  
“He’s trying,” Mark’s brow rose.  
“It was never going to be instantaneous,” Jesse worked to swing the chain toward his lock, “it’ll take patience.”  
“Sure, sure,” Mark scoffed, his attention turning back to Keandre.  
He’d started rummaging in his bedsheets.  
“What are you doing?” Mark asked him.  
“Out,” Keandre responded.  
He pulled what looked like a white braid from beneath the sheets and stood up to go to his door. Jesse paused in what he was doing to watch. Just as Jesse had been struggling to do, Keandre fed the end of the braid through one of the air holes in the plexiglass and let it drop down to the catch on his door. The braid had a loop at the end which after only three attempts managed to snag the end of the catch. He gave it a quick pull and the catch easily came free, his door swinging open.  
“Okay…” Jesse frowned, immediately pulling the rosary back through his own hole.  
“What the fuck was that?!” Mark demanded as Keandre came straight to his door to open it.  
He pulled the catch up and opened the door for him, Mark jumping to his feet.  
“Out,” Keandre indicated before turning to focus on Jesse’s.  
Jesse watched him, unsure of what he would do. Unlike the other two cells, Jesse’s had a lock.  
“You got anything to pick locks with?” Mark looked between them, unsure if Keandre would know what he meant.  
Keandre stared him in the eye as he began to undo the tie on the waist of his pants. Mark pointedly diverted his eyes as Keandre got it undone and pulled the cord through a little further. Tied around it was a wire.  
“Where did you get that?” Jesse frowned when he saw it, making Mark turn back.  
Without responding, Keandre began to pick the lock.  
“Great. Now we have a magician on the team,” Mark’s brow rose.  
He soon had the lock undone and had opened Jesse’s cell. He stepped out as Keandre retied his pants before indicating for Jesse to lead the way.  
“Wait here,” he told Mark, “I’ll have a quick look at what’s going on.”  
“Wait here?” Mark’s brow rose again, “despite the doomsday feeling we all suddenly have?”  
Jesse decided to ignore him and head for the door. Keandre watched after as Mark followed him, but Jesse stopped in the doorway half a second after pulling it open.  
Their night guard was on the floor, his throat cut clean across.


	6. Chapter 6

Both Alex and Damien’s eyes shot open the moment the light came on, but Joey was the first to his feet.  
“DAE!” they heard him scream, but it was already too late.  
By the time either Alex or Damien had untangled themselves from the bedsheets, Evan had a gun to Joey’s head. Alex quickly reached for his glasses on the bedside table.  
“Evan…” Damien held a hand out to pacify him, “what are you doing?”  
“What does it look like?” his eyes narrowed, his left arm holding Joey in a choke hold while his right kept the barrel at the youngster’s temple.  
Joey was already struggling to breathe.  
“You don’t want to hurt him,” Damien’s voice was steady as he inched himself from the bed.  
“You’re right I don’t. I just wanted your attention,” Evan assured as Joey flinched at the warm breath on the back of his neck, “I’ve been in that hole for five years. Five _years_. When was the last time I saw you?”  
Damien paused, trying to remember.  
“It was four years,” Evan jumped in, “do you remember the last thing you said to me?”  
Alex’s eyes darted between them, wanting to help somehow but not having any idea how. He wasn’t sure he could move if he wanted to.  
“I don’t,” Damien admitted, keeping his eye on Joey.  
He was desperately trying to pull Evan’s arm from his throat.  
“You told me I was going to die here,” Evan sneered, “so no, I don’t want to hurt him. But I want to hurt you.”  
He let Joey go suddenly, pushing him forward onto the floor. He gasped for breath as he fell to his knees. Before Damien could move Evan had the gun trained on him.  
“Don’t move,” he warned, “you send out a warning I shoot all three of you dead where you sit.”  
“I’m not moving,” Damien assured, hands going up in surrender.  
Alex, though feeling himself shivering, raised his hands too.  
“You,” Evan indicated him, “get up.”  
“Me?” Alex had to check that Damien was still on the other side of the room, to be sure.  
“Get up!” Evan demanded, closing the door behind himself.  
Alex quickly moved the sheets from his legs, standing on the cold floor in his pyjama shorts and undershirt. His hands went straight back up in surrender.  
“What are you doing?” Damien tried again as Joey finally recovered enough to move.  
He crawled toward the couch and turned onto his back to sit against it. He just wanted to be far enough from Evan so he couldn’t grab him again. He was still coughing and holding his throat.  
Evan dug into one of the larger pockets of the bloodied lab coat. He pulled out the wrist cuffs and threw them in Alex’s direction. He jumped backward letting them fall to the floor.  
“Put them on him,” Evan indicated Damien.  
“Why?” Damien demanded with a frown, “what are you going to do?”  
“DO IT!” Evan’s voice rose enough to make both Alex and Joey jump.  
Alex quickly stooped to collect the cuffs as Damien rolled his eyes. Evan used the gun to indicate for him to hurry up and Alex rushed to Damien’s bedside.  
“Hands behind,” Evan corrected when he saw Damien put his hands out in front.  
“Whatever you’re doing, you’re not going to get away with it,” Damien insisted as Alex fixed the cuffs.  
He had the fleeting thought to leave them loose enough for Damien to get off, but at the same time… Evan had the gun pointed right at them. He didn’t want him to check them and get mad.  
“Who else have you hurt?” Damien asked as Alex stepped back, “whose blood is that?”  
“Don’t know don’t care,” Evan shrugged, “get up.”  
Damien stood from the bed as Evan struggled to remove the lab coat one-handed. He’d spied Damien’s hanging from the back of the door complete with his pass attached and worked to put that one on instead. A large amount of blood was still visible at the top of his shirt.  
“Where are you taking him?” Joey asked from the floor, “please don’t take him!”  
“Shut up,” Evan scorned, “you, get into the bathroom!”  
He was looking at Alex.  
“Okay,” he nodded, backing over to the door so he wouldn’t have to lose sight of the gun.  
Unsure if Evan wanted him to close the door, he did so gingerly.  
“Come on,” Evan waved the gun, “you’re coming with me.”  
“Why?!” Joey cried as Damien got to his feet, “where are you going?!”  
“If I go with you, you’re not going to hurt Joey, right?” Damien checked.  
Evan eyed the young clone for a moment as if debating his answer.  
“Because if you’re going to kill us all you might as well do it now,” Damien pointed out, “I’m not going to help you hurt people.”  
“You’re wrong about that,” Evan assured, “and I’ve already had some help from our little friend here. Found myself some C series on the third floor.”  
Alex gasped at that, immediately covering his mouth. He didn’t want to draw any more attention.  
“Did you kill them?” Damien didn’t seem to care either way.  
“Thought I’d save the three in the cells for later,” Evan mused, “now get over here. We’re going for a walk.”  
Joey was shaking his head and begging Damien not to as he stepped past him. Once close enough Evan opened the door again and checked to make sure no one was in the corridor.  
“How do you lock this door?” he demanded as he pulled Damien through, closing it on Joey’s wails.  
“I don’t usually,” Damien shook hair out of his eyes.  
“And if you did?”  
Damien eyed the gun. He knew it wasn’t Evan’s usual weapon of choice. He knew very well that he preferred blades.  
“The pass,” he admitted, hoping it would keep Joey and Alex out of danger more than anything else.  
Evan used his left hand to unhook the pass from the coat and use it on the door lock. Damien took the moment to check the security cameras. They were still operational, but he had no idea if there were anyone left to watch them.  
Who knew how long Evan had been out already?  
“Where’s security?” he asked as Evan finished with the door.  
“Don’t worry, I only offed a few,” Evan indicated for him to head for the elevator, “everyone seems to be focused on the outside of the building for some reason.”  
“Russians,” Damien grit his teeth.  
“What?” Evan stopped him.  
“Nothing,” Damien insisted, “where are we going?”  
“Third floor of course,” Evan scoffed, “you’re going to help me find the rest of them.”

“That’s disgusting,” Mark pulled a face when they came across a second dead body, “who the fuck would do this?!”  
“Not the Russians,” Jesse checked for a pulse anyway.  
“No shit. They wouldn’t leave us behind either.”  
“We are need… armes,” Keandre wasn’t sure of the English word.  
“I got that,” Mark pointed at him, “and he’s right.”  
“Security guard was empty,” Jesse considered, “we’ll need to arm ourselves with anything we can find.”  
“Stationery?” Mark’s brow rose.  
“Anything we can find,” Jesse reiterated, starting to check for open doors.  
“Maybe Keandre could make something,” Mark smirked, “I saw what he did in Russia.”  
“What was that?” Jesse was oblivious.  
“He used the forks they gave us and made a shive.”  
Jesse paused in his stride, his mind ticking over.  
“We should try and find the kitchen,” he suggested.  
“I doubt it’s on this level,” Mark pointed out.  
“But I’m sure Carey and Colin are,” Jesse’s eyes narrowed in thought, “which means there must be a surgery.”  
“Carey,” Mark suddenly realised, locking eyes with Jesse when he turned back to him, “I have to find Carey. I have to check on him.”

“What are you doing?” Joey asked, his eyes red as he watched Alex.  
He was standing on the desk, which he’d moved under the security camera.  
“If we can’t get through the door, that means this is the only line out of this room,” Alex knocked gently on the wall around the camera, listening for a hollow, “it might be our only way to communicate with anybody.”  
“How? It’s a camera,” Joey wiped his eyes, trying to focus.  
“Yes, but…” Alex finally found the hollow, “that’s not the part I’m interested in. Hand me something heavy.”  
Joey quickly looked around, finding nothing, before heading for the bathroom. He returned with a ceramic soap dispenser and handed it up.  
“Hopefully this doesn’t break,” Alex looked it over before taking a deep breath.  
He aimed it for the hollow. The plaster shattered and he passed it back to Joey as he started pulling more plaster away. He soon found the wires and started pulling them from the wall, trying to make sure he had enough length to reach the laptop.  
“How are you going to do anything with those?” Joey was confused as he jumped down and grabbed Damien’s laptop, “won’t you get electrocuted?”  
Alex paused, knowing how stressed Joey must have been. He chewed his lip for a moment before forcing a smile.  
“I can show you,” he offered, hoping it would distract him.

Mark had managed to arm himself with a pair of scissors and a metal rod that used to be part of a lamp, and he’d headed straight toward the infirmary. He remembered being told the elevator was nearby which made signage easy to follow, so while Jesse and Keandre had opted to arm themselves further Mark had focused on his brother.  
He soon found the elevator and was about to start checking rooms when he heard the elevator stopping. He froze up for a moment before the doors began to open, and when he finally came to his senses ducked back into the hall he’d come from. He saw Damien step out first – still in his pyjamas – and was about to call out to him before seeing the gun follow. He opted to stay silent instead. He could clearly see the cuffs now.  
“You know where they are, why do you need me?” Damien was asking.  
“They said the whole C series was here,” the second person responded, “I’ve only counted five.”  
‘What the fuck?’ Mark mouthed to himself, registering the voice.  
“If you’re looking for the whole twelve you’ll be disappointed,” Damien insisted, “there aren’t that many left alive already.”  
“How many are alive?” Damien was given a shove, “and if you’re lying, I’ll find out.”  
“How?” Damien stood his ground, “how will you find out? How many people have you hurt already? You’re not going to leave anyone alive to dispute me!”  
“You think I’ve forgotten the tracer program?” the other clone scorned, “don’t tell me you didn’t add your little insurance policy the moment you found them.”  
Mark grit his teeth, wondering if he was about to be given away. He had to find Carey before that happened.  
“And how are you going to access it?” Damien demanded, “if you kill everybody you won’t get the passcodes.”  
“Why do you think you’re still alive?”  
Mark winced at that, wondering if he should defer and try to help Damien instead. He didn’t know who this new clone was, so he didn’t know what he was up against. He could have been another Jesse for all he knew and Jesse was the only clone to ever have intimidated Mark.  
“What makes you think I’d help you if you’re going to kill us anyway?” Damien shrugged, “what’s the point? There’s no incentive.”  
“You’re going to die tonight. That’s for certain,” the other clone insisted, “but maybe I’ll leave Joey alone.”  
“Why should I believe you?” Damien frowned.  
“You don’t have to.”  
Mark jolted as the gun went off. He couldn’t tell where the bullet had gone, but it didn’t seem to have hit Damien.  
“But you’re going to help me either way.”


	7. Chapter 7

Jesse grunted to himself when he found yet another cut telephone line. They hadn’t managed to find a single way to contact the outside world yet, or even just alert another floor. But they didn’t know how far the massacre had already spread and they didn’t know where the culprit was. Jesse’s next idea was to lock the floor down and wait until they were found by people from the outside. As far as he knew, everyone bar Alex and Damien were on the same floor.  
“No phone?” Keandre confirmed over his shoulder.  
“No phone,” Jesse agreed, “we need to spread out. Take control of this floor.”  
He paused when he registered the blank look on Keandre’s face.  
“Sécuriser la zone,” he tried again.  
Keandre nodded, spinning his own scissors in his fingers as Jesse stood up.  
“We are not dead,” he frowned, confused.  
“No we aren’t,” Jesse agreed, heading for the door.  
“Everybody. They are dead,” Keandre indicated the messy office area, “we are not.”  
“I don’t know what’s going on, or who’s responsible,” Jesse insisted, “and whether or not we’ll find out remains to be seen. But for now? We need to lock this place down. If he’s still on the floor we’ll deal with that when it comes up.”  
Keandre shrugged, getting roughly half of what he’d said. Jesse was about to ask if Keandre was confident enough to possibly face an attacker, but he wasn’t sure how to translate it and Keandre already looked unnervingly calm. Dismissing the idea he began to head for the stairwell.  
Keandre followed him a few paces behind, keeping a careful eye out.

Damien stumbled as Evan shoved him into the third floor computer lab. Leaving the door open he continued to push him to the nearest chair where he forced him to sit down.  
“This is going to be hard with my hands tied,” Damien insisted as Evan started the computer up.  
He ignored the comment, clicking the safety back on the gun and slipping it into the lab coat. Instead he pulled an already bloodied scalpel which somehow put Damien more on edge. He held it out to make sure he had Damien’s attention.  
“Don’t try anything,” he warned steadily, “if you do, I might just use this to slice your little G-brat into bite sized pieces.”  
“You think you have that much time?” Damien’s brow furrowed.  
“Maybe not,” Evan considered, “so we should probably get to work.”  
He disappeared behind Damien’s back and Damien could feel the right cuff being undone. He tried to work out if he could somehow fight back once his hands were freed, but soon realised Evan had simply cuffed his left hand to the chair instead. He kept his eyes to the screen in an effort to stay focused.  
“Bring up the program,” Evan ordered, shadowing his shoulder.

Once they’d headed further down the corridor and out of sight, Mark had emerged from his hiding place and continued his search for his brother. Trying to avoid the direction the two had gone he soon managed to come across what he was sure was the infirmary.  
The first thing he saw was a body on the floor blocking a doorway. Hoping Damien would keep the perpetrator occupied as long as possible, he ran for it. The sight through the window of the room before it stopped him in his tracks.  
Before he could dwell on the levelled heart monitor he was distracted by a noise from ahead.  
“Mark!” he heard a faint call, before seeing a shadow move over the body.  
He darted for the door, finding Carey in his wheelchair just on the other side.  
“Holy shit,” he winced at the sight of the blood puddle.  
“I can’t get out,” Carey’s brow furrowed, “move her!”  
“You might not want to come out,” Mark looked back down the hall.  
“What the fuck is going on?!” Carey demanded, “I went to the bathroom and came back and-“  
Mark hushed him, not sure how far away Damien had gone.  
“What the fuck is going on?” Carey repeated, quieter.  
“I don’t know,” Mark admitted, “but all the guards on this floor are down, and I don’t know if it’s just this floor.”  
“How did you get out?” Carey frowned.  
“Keandre. Long story,” Mark blew over, “Jesse wants to lock the floor down and hole up until someone finds us. I’m not sure that’s going to be an option.”  
“Why not?” Carey was wary as Mark began to try and work out how to move the nurse.  
“Because whoever’s responsible is nearby and they’ve got Damien,” he replied.

Evan turned to look over his shoulder as Damien took his time entering the codes one-handed. When Damien noticed, he took the opportunity to stop.  
“Keep going,” Evan ordered without looking back.  
“What’s wrong?” Damien asked instead.  
“Keep going.”  
Damien grit his teeth but continued with the passcodes. Without a further word, Evan suddenly left the room.  
Damien immediately stopped what he was doing and focused on trying to get the cuff off instead.

“How do you know that?“  
“Shh!” Mark hissed suddenly, pausing in his movement.  
He froze as he turned his hearing down the hallway. He could hear familiar footsteps.  
“Where were you hiding?” he whispered without looking back.  
“The bathroom,” Carey frowned, keeping his voice down but not to a whisper.  
Mark bounded over the body and took hold of the back of the wheelchair, quickly pulling his brother back toward the door. Carey tried to help him with it once Mark realised how heavy it was and with a little fumbling they both managed to get inside. Mark was tempted to leave the door open a sliver so he could hear but decided against it. Hopefully nothing in the room would look different from when Carey had hidden before.

Evan’s senses were heightened as he rounded the corner. He knew he shouldn’t have been able to hear anything from this end of the floor.  
The nurse was still on the floor, and the other was still in the office. He could neither see nor sense anyone else in the area. But he’d been so sure he’d heard low voices.  
He made his way to the window of the far room to check that the clone was still on the bed. Nothing appeared to have changed there either.  
He turned to go back to the computer lab, casting his eyes down on the nurse’s body as he passed. This time he paused.  
Some of her blood was smeared on the floor. There was every chance she could have done it herself in her final moments, but her hands appeared bare.  
Evan eyed the empty bed in the room before stepping over her. Despite the thickness of the door, the Millers could hear his footsteps and Mark was holding his breath.  
Evan made his way to the monitors which had been long turned off. It was obvious the bed hadn’t been slept in for a long time, but he knew it should have been turned down by now if the room had actually been vacated. He ran his hand along it just to gauge the temperature and see if anyone had been on it recently. While he was sure the room had been empty before he wanted to be thorough now.  
He eyed the door to the bathroom next. He hadn’t heard any water running but without the nurses someone could have been unconscious in there.  
He made his way over and took hold of the door handle, keeping an eye on the hallway just in case. At first the door wouldn’t budge. Knowing it couldn’t be locked from the inside, he grit his teeth as he prepared to pull harder. But a crash from somewhere down the hallway caught his attention instead. Knowing it had to be Damien, he took off at a run.  
Mark heard his footsteps running away and leant against the door in relief. He hadn’t been looking forward to that fight at all.

Damien had given up trying to get the cuffs off and opted to just carry the chair. It was only a smaller desk chair on wheels so the weight wasn’t a problem, but doing it cuffed made it hard to balance the weight. Which meant he dropped it more than once in his effort to get back to the elevator.  
He managed to get there and press the button before getting an ominous feeling. When he turned to look behind him he saw Evan’s silhouette at the end of the corridor. With a wince he retreated around the nearest corner, knowing Evan would follow. He had to get back to Joey somehow.  
It wasn’t long before Evan caught up with him and he readily held the scalpel in his hand. The moment Damien saw it he backed himself into a corner and tried to use the chair in defence. Evan came at him strong and determined and the moment he ripped the chair down – taking Damien’s left arm with it – his body was exposed enough for Evan to sink the blade in. Damien only grunted with the force, panicking internally but still trying to rationalise that Evan needed him alive. As soon as the blade came out Damien’s right hand went to the wound.  
“You’re trying to run from me?” Evan scorned, “really? _Here_?”  
Damien ignored him as his legs began to feel weak. Evan took the moment to right the chair so that Damien could collapse into it.  
“Now,” Evan took hold of the back rest and began to push the chair forward, “let’s get back to it.”

Jesse set the oxygen tank outside the door before going back to grab the small toolkit he’d found. He took whatever he could fit in his pockets before closing the door securely and using a wrench to break the handle off.  
“Why?” Keandre asked from behind him, indicating the hole where the handle used to be when he was done.  
“There’s a lot of dangerous things in that room,” Jesse indicated the janitor closet, “we don’t want whoever’s responsible to get anything out of it.”  
Keandre just gave a blank stare which prompted Jesse to grab the tank and take it further down the hall to the nearest open room.  
“Why are you have that?” Keandre followed him, watching as he hid it behind a door.  
“It’s our backup plan,” Jesse was looking around, “we just need something to set alight.”  
He paused, wondering how to make Keandre understand enough to actually help him.  
“Fire?” he raised a brow, “you know the word fire?”  
“Oui,” Keandre frowned, “you want fire.”  
“Not yet,” Jesse made sure to insist, “but yes. Can you help?”  
A smirk crossed Keandre’s face.  
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jesse muttered, starting back down the hall.

Damien grunted as he was pushed back in front of the computer, but he wasn’t pulling his hand from his wound. Evan stepped around to his side and tried to catch his eye.  
“Tell me the codes,” he offered, “the sooner you help me, the sooner this will all be over.”  
“What are you going to do?” Damien’s eyes narrowed tiredly, “you won’t make it out of here alive. You won’t find any of them anyway.”  
“I have to disagree,” Evan shrugged, “I’ve had a lot of time down there to plan this. Aren’t you wondering why no one’s come to help you yet?”  
Damien winced as the nerves started reacting in his wound. But Evan’s words caused a similar reaction. He _had_ been wondering where everyone was and how Evan had somehow managed to take over the entire floor without much of a fight.  
“Tell me the codes,” he repeated, “and they’ll no longer be your problem.”  
Damien grit his teeth as he decided. The Russians had gotten him out easily enough, but Evan didn’t have backup. He was also unaware of how far their technology had advanced in five years. There had to be something he was forgetting, and that was going to be his downfall. Even if Damien didn’t get to see it himself.  
“Fine,” he relented.


	8. Chapter 8

Damien could feel himself getting dizzy as Evan worked the computer, and tried to tell himself it was because it was still the early hours of the morning. The morning shift wouldn’t arrive for hours yet. Evan had timed his assault well.  
Evan printed out a sheet that he’d made, and Damien didn’t bother moving as he went to collect it from the printer. There was no point. He’d easily catch him again.  
“Nearly there,” Evan assured, folding the paper and slipping it into a pocket.  
“Now what?” Damien tried not to show his nerves, despite his sweat.  
“Now…” Evan made his way back to the chair and took hold again, “we make you a little more comfortable.”  
Damien groaned as moving the chair made him dizzy again before Evan began to push him back down toward the infirmary. 

“You think they’re gone?” Carey’s eyebrows rose warily.  
“Gone? No,” Mark had opened the door slightly, “distracted, maybe.”  
“Why would someone kill nurses?” Carey frowned, “what do you possibly have to gain? What do they want?!”  
“Maybe it’s the Russians, how the fuck would I know?” Mark cursed, trying hard to listen.  
He was refusing to let his brother out of the bathroom yet.  
“I can’t go back to Russia,” Carey shook his head, “if they’re coming for us again-“  
“Shut the fuck up!” Mark hissed, “I’m trying to hear!”  
Carey grit his teeth, trying to hold himself together. A moment later Mark heard the wheels on the hard corridor flooring and quickly shut the door again.  
“He’s coming back,” he informed his brother once he got a questioning look, “we could be in here for the long haul.”  
“Better than getting our throats cut,” Carey couldn’t help himself.  
“It could still happen yet,” Mark warned, keeping his hand on the door handle just in case.

Damien didn’t open his eyes until he stopped moving. When he finally looked around he realised he was in the room he’d interrogated Keandre in.  
“What are we doing here?” he grunted, still holding his wound with his right hand as Evan fussed around him.  
He was opening cabinets and searching through their contents, and having trouble finding what he was looking for.  
“What do you want?” Damien frowned, “you have it already. You got the locations. Just leave.”  
“No, I’m not done here yet,” Evan assured, finding some cable ties and slipping them into his pocket.  
Damien took deep breaths as he came back to the chair to unlock the cuff holding Damien to it. With Evan’s help he made it onto the bed where Evan replaced the cuff to the side rail instead. When he was done he moved around the bed to take Damien’s right hand and use the ties to restrain it to the other side. Damien winced as the wound pulled and collapsed backwards in defeat. Evan took his time to make sure he was properly secured before grabbing the scalpel again.  
The next thing he did was take hold of Damien’s right foot and slice harshly across the back of his ankle causing Damien to cry out in pain.  
“This will stop you going anywhere,” Evan sounded pleased with himself, before going to move the chair out of the way.  
Damien grimaced as he tried to control the pain, trying not to think about what Evan had meant. When he came back to the bed he started to pull Damien’s bloodied shirt upward making his body buckle underneath.  
“Relax,” Evan scorned, exposing the wound so that he could take a proper look at it.  
He tested the skin around it making Damien hold his breath.  
“Deeper than I thought,” he muttered under his breath, “never mind, you won’t feel it for much longer.”

Jesse and Keandre were slowly making their way through the floor. They hadn’t come across anyone alive.  
“If it was Russians, why are we left?” Keandre was frowning, both from confusion and trying to translate.  
“It’s not the Russians,” Jesse insisted, “it’s too messy. This is what they call a crime of opportunity.”  
“Like shooting fish in barrel.”  
Jesse stopped to raise a brow in Keandre’s direction.  
“What?” he shrugged, “I hear on TV. I have free time in Tulsa.”  
“And you got the concept,” Jesse nodded, “good for you.”  
“Sitting duck,” Keandre continued as they kept walking.  
“At least we’re not in a cell anymore,” Jesse reasoned before frowning again, “or confined to a room. We need to find Mark and Carey.”  
“I know where they are.”  
“You do?” Jesse’s brow rose, “how?”  
“Damien take me there,” Keandre revealed, “near.”  
He made a motion like he was injecting his arm. Jesse took a moment to work out what it meant.  
“You remember?” he made sure.  
“Oui,” Keandre nodded.  
“Then go!”  
Keandre picked up the pace, leading Jesse through a few corridors they hadn’t made it to yet. Jesse could tell when they’d entered the appropriate area though the smell wasn’t all that different from the rest of the lab. Before Keandre could go too far Jesse took hold of his shirt to hold him back. Keandre tensed, but let him.  
Jesse put a finger to his lips in a signal to be quiet. He could hear something further on but wasn’t sure of what it was yet.

“Is this really what you want to waste your time doing?” Damien shook his head, “you’re going to risk getting caught just so you can hurt me some more?”  
“You don’t understand what’s going on, do you?” Evan was disappointed.  
“You hate me, I get it!” Damien insisted, “but you’ve had your fun. Move on!”  
Evan let the bloodied scalpel trail along Damien’s abdomen, just missing the larger wound. A thin line of red followed it.  
“You and your kind think you are Gods among men,” Evan’s brow rose, his eyes to the blade, “like master puppeteers, caring nought for what you create. Not really.”  
He sighed dramatically.  
“You gave me a taste of freedom only to take it away, and not because of what I’d done. No. But because you had always planned to.”  
“That’s not true,” Damien shook his head.  
“Isn’t it?” Evan looked him in the eye, “so the plan was never to send us out there, to infiltrate life, and call us back once you were happy with the research?”  
“That’s not what I meant,” Damien corrected.  
“Then what did you mean?” Evan tilted his head, listening intently.  
Damien took a few deep breaths before answering.  
“You thought you were free, but you never were,” he insisted, “the freedom you thought you had was always going to be a lie. We were always there. Like a shadow looking over your shoulder. You never had the option of ever being free.”  
Evan’s eyes darkened as he continued to stare down at him. Damien held his gaze.  
After a tense moment of silence Evan leant in to him.  
“I’m going to tear you apart,” he warned from between his teeth before sinking the scalpel in right next to the other wound.

Jesse kept hold of Keandre’s shoulder as they heard Damien’s wails. Knowing where they were coming from now, Jesse’s mind raced to come up with a plan.  
“I can distraire,” Keandre offered.  
“I don’t know that word,” Jesse admitted.  
“I go,” Keandre indicated, “and bad he go. He come with. You save.”  
Jesse hesitated, but not because he didn’t understand. Mostly because he didn’t think it was a good idea.  
“What if he has a gun?” he asked.  
“They are dead,” Keandre pointed back down the corridor, “not from gun.”  
“But we heard a shot,” Jesse insisted, “earlier.”  
“I am not scare,” Keandre put a hand to his chest, “I can run fast.”  
“And that’s great, but that might not help if he has a gun,” Jesse pointed out.  
“You are forget,” Keandre’s brow rose.  
Jesse grit his teeth, recognising the look on his face. He hoped he was wrong.  
“What am I forgetting?” he dared to ask.  
“You can no stop me.”  
Keandre bolted. Jesse grunted and rolled his eyes, staying back behind the corner to watch the outcome.

Both Damien and Evan’s eyes went to the doorway in time to see Keandre’s shape run past. It was too quick for Damien to tell which clone it was.  
“Shit!” Evan cursed, wiping off the blade and taking up pursuit.  
Jesse saw the clone take chase as Keandre rounded the far corner beyond the elevator. At first he thought it was Damien, but he was gone so soon he wasn’t sure.  
He quickly made his way to the room he’d come from, soon spotting the real Damien on the table.  
“Jesse?” his brow furrowed when he appeared.  
Jesse took another quick look down the corridor before darting to Damien’s side. One look at the restraints and he cursed inside his head.  
“What are you doing here?” Damien was frowning now, “you need to leave.”  
“Tell me about it,” Jesse muttered, “what can I use to free you? I have nothing sharp.”  
“Nothing,” Damien shook his head, “take a closer look.”  
Jesse paused, unsure of what he meant. When Damien’s eyes went to his wounds Jesse eyed them somewhat suspiciously. Both his right hand and abdomen were covered in blood, but he soon spied the damage to his achilles.  
“I’m not walking out of here,” Damien caught his attention again, “and I was never going to. You need to use me.”  
“How?” Jesse soon realised he had to have a plan.  
“I don’t know. But we need to take him out. For good.”  
Jesse’s eyes went around the room, looking for ideas.  
“You’re the professional,” Damien insisted, “tell me how to do it and I will. No one else has to get hurt.”  
“We’d hope,” Jesse muttered before remembering something, “I found an oxygen tank. Big enough to do some damage. But we have nothing to heat it with.”  
“There’s Bunsen burners in the chem lab next door,” Damien indicated with his head, “set it up under the bed and I’ll keep him here as long as I can.”  
Jesse was about to respond when a shadow crossed the doorway. Already jumpy he had his weapon at the ready by the time he turned around.  
“What the fuck is going on?!” Mark look perplexed, “all I can hear is yelling and running and-“  
“It’s a clone, a very dangerous clone,” Damien quickly explained, “we’ve kept him in the basement for years. He’s a psychopath.”  
“How? Why?” Jesse demanded, knowing they might not get another chance to find out.  
“He hunted most of his own series,” Damien’s breaths were coming in shorter, “he’s a serial killer.”  
“Great. Just what we need,” Mark shrugged.  
“Where’s Carey?” Jesse asked.  
“Hiding in the bathroom. Where’s the psycho?”  
“Chasing Keandre. I don’t know how long he’ll keep him away.”  
“While this is endearing I’m sure, can you get the damn tank already?” Damien asked tiredly, “before I change my mind.”  
“What tank?” Mark looked between them.  
“Here,” Jesse headed for the door, grabbing Mark by the shoulder on the way, “help me, I’ll explain on the way.”

“I didn’t know you could do that with just a couple of wires,” Joey’s eyes were wide as the followed the DOS codes on screen.  
“Not every kind of wire, just the fibre optics,” Alex insisted, “you’ll need to learn the difference if you want to make a habit of it.”  
“You mean if we survive until morning, right?”  
Alex paused, chewing on his bottom lip.  
“I’m not a stupid kid you know,” Joey insisted, “I know what’s happening. Evan wants us all dead and it’s my fault he’s out.”  
“It’s not your fault,” Alex insisted.  
“It can’t be anyone else’s!”  
Alex rushed to think of a defence before the laptop started making noise. Meaning to come back to the conversation he focused on the screen again instead.  
“Okay we have contact,” he nodded to himself, “but I’m not sure who with.”  
“So it’s like dialling a random number and hoping you get someone who calls 911 for you?” Joey tried to understand.  
“Something like that,” Alex admitted, “but not quite as random.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Mark’s eyes were darting around the room as Jesse set the tank in place.  
“It’s the only idea,” Damien scorned.  
“Keep an eye out, I don’t know where Keandre’s gone,” Jesse ordered, “I’ll be back.”  
He hurriedly left the room.  
“Where are you going?!” Mark was getting exasperated, before seeing him simply ducking into the next room.  
He looked back toward Carey’s room, debating if he should check on his brother, before focusing on Damien again. His eyes were closed and he was quite obviously not in a good way.  
“Are you sure you want to do this?” his brow furrowed, making Damien open his eyes again, “you know what this means, right? I mean… do you really want to go out like this?”  
“I’m dying anyway,” Damien’s eyes were to the ceiling, “I had a time limit on getting help for the lacerations. The time has passed. I’m bleeding out internally.”  
Mark’s eyes went to his abdomen and he gulped slightly. He wasn’t sure why he was so concerned, none of them were Damien fans. But he was feeling a familiar sense of dread that had taken hold of him in Colin’s final moments out on the road.  
“We can still get you out,” he insisted, “we can carry you.”  
“It’s too late!” Damien scorned, “I’ll either die slowly at his hand or quickly at my own. I’d rather go quick and take him with me.”  
Mark saw Jesse coming back with some small metal frames and stood back from the doorway. If Jesse was on board with it, he didn’t know what he could do to stop them.  
“Did you find them?” Damien asked as Jesse disappeared under the bed again.  
“Yep.”  
“What is that?” Mark asked, unsure.  
“Just keep a look out!” Jesse ordered, making Mark step back into the doorway again.  
He carefully set the burners under the tank and fired the first one up before moving onto the second.  
“How long is this gonna take?” Mark kept his eyes down the hall.  
“Not long,” Jesse assured.  
“You need to get as far away as possible,” Damien insisted, “I don’t know how far-“  
“The blast radius won’t be too big,” Jesse assured, “we just need a solid wall.”  
“The bathroom,” Mark suggested, “where Carey is. We might all fit.”  
“Hopefully we find Keandre in the meantime,” Jesse muttered before pausing a moment.  
He tried to work out if he was remembering right before turning back to Mark.  
“Go to the nurse’s station and grab some markers,” he ordered, “I have an idea.”  
Just glad to be sent away, Mark did as he was told.  
“You can do it, right?” Damien could feel his nerves spiking as his fingers started tapping on the bed, “you’re not going to leave me to him?”  
“I’m going to try,” Jesse looked up in order to catch his eye, “I can’t guarantee that this will work in time, but I’m going to try. You just need to hold out as long as you can.”  
Damien gave him a nod before looking to the ceiling again as Jesse got back to work. He soon pulled the sheets down over it so nothing looked out of place before getting to his feet.  
“Uh…” he wasn’t sure if he should say anything.  
“Do me a favor?” Damien didn’t look at him, afraid he’d say no.  
“Of course,” Jesse shrugged.  
“Find Alex,” Damien swallowed hard, “he’s with another clone. His name is Joseph. Make sure they make it.”  
“I’ll try,” Jesse promised, wiping his hands off, “where are they?”  
“In my room, on the first floor. He locked them in.”  
“I’ll see what I can do once we’re done here,” Jesse assured.  
“Thank you,” Damien closed his eyes again.  
“Anything else?” Jesse thought to check as he heard Mark coming back.  
“No.”  
“Okay well… good luck.”

Keandre slowed his breathing as he listened for any footsteps. He’d stopped around a corner and was waiting for Evan to catch up. He’d managed to lead him quite a way from the infirmary and it was almost a fun game of cat and mouse for now.  
As he concentrated on his hearing, something caught his eye. On a far wall there was a large scrawl of dark black lettering, spelling out the words ‘le perdre’ and ‘prendre abri’. He frowned when he saw them before finally hearing Evan’s cautious footsteps. He debated then and there whether to follow the instructions on the wall, and in the end decided that now was as good a time as any. He slid back from the corner and disappeared in the opposite direction to what Evan had been heading. The game was over for now.

“Jesse?!” Carey was shocked when Mark pulled him into the bathroom with them, “what are you doing here?! Did you-“  
“It wasn’t me,” Jesse insisted before he could go on, “there’s a dangerous clone on the loose but we’re dealing with it.”  
“Apparently,” Mark grunted as he pulled the door closed and held the handle again.  
“A clone,” Carey looked between them.  
“Yeah,” Jesse shrugged, “a clone is doing this. But not for much longer if we can help it.”  
“So… why are we still in here?”  
“Wait for it,” Mark winced.

Damien’s breathing heavied as he heard footsteps returning. It was either going to be Keandre or Evan, and he knew which was more likely. When Evan appeared he clenched his fists.  
“It looks like our friends from the cells have gotten loose,” he wasn’t happy, “but I’ll deal with them later. They won’t be leaving this floor anytime soon.”  
Damien wondered what he meant by that, considering his request of Jesse. But he kept quiet.  
Evan set the gun on a side bench before retrieving the scalpel again from a pocket. Damien’s eyes locked to it and his nostrils flared. He had to try and hold out as long as he could.  
“How many years?” he tried a distraction.  
Evan’s eyes met his curiously.  
“How many years have you wanted to do this?” he amended between breaths.  
“To you?” Evan indicated the damage, “all of them.”  
“All?” Damien’s brow furrowed.  
“You were the lucky rich kid,” Evan returned to the side of the bed, “out there running around free while we watched from inside the fish bowl.”  
“I was only five years old!” Damien defended.  
“When I was decanted, sure,” Evan conceded, “but I remember you when you were ten. Spying on us. Trying not to ask questions. Ignoring our cries for help. Being encouraged to hurt us.”  
“That wasn’t what happened at all,” Damien scorned, “we weren’t torturing you. It was research. A necessary evil.”  
“And now I’m the product of that,” Evan met his eye again, “perhaps I’m the new necessary evil. I’m a cleanse. A way for life to start over without festering infections such as you and Morris to discourage it.”  
“You’re not making any sense!” Damien’s heart was starting to race, knowing he had little time left.  
“It makes perfect sense,” Evan assured, “you think we’re just animals. Lab rats. Incapable of acknowledging our own existence or making our own little mark on the world. But I assure you, you’re wrong.”  
His brow rose.  
“I’m not the only one either,” he went on, “there’s a lot of us out there just waiting for the right moment. For that second you turn your back.”  
“Waiting for what?” Damien was confused.  
“What else?” Evan smirked, “ _freedom_.”

“Can you disable the door locks somehow?” Joey asked, a hand on Alex’s shoulder as he continued working in the DOS program.  
“Disabling the power would be easier,” he reasoned, “but that risks turning off Colin’s life support and I can’t do that.”  
“Colin?”  
“One of the C series,” he quickly explained, typing away, “I’ll see if I can find a back door into the security but something tells me a place like this would make it especially hard to-“  
Alex cut himself off and his eyes went to the ceiling.  
“What?” Joey looked up too.  
“Do you hear that?” Alex whispered, referencing an eerie rumble.

“I call upon the great archangel Raphael – master of air – to open the way for this to be done. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit now descend that this being might be awakened to the world beyond and the life of Earth, and infused with the power of the Holy Spirit.”  
“Come _ON_!” Mark cringed as he and Jesse struggled to hold the door closed, the metal not only buckling but starting to warp from the heat.  
Carey could only watch in horror.  
“Jesus Christ most merciful, Lord of the Earth, we ask that you receive this child into your arms, that he might pass in safety from this crisis,” Jesse went on, voice rising with stress.  
The heat passed quickly and Mark collapsed backward from the door, instantly nursing a severe burn down his left arm.  
“ _’And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.’_ So let it be done.”  
Jesse stood back as Carey quickly reached for the shower and turned the cold water on.  
“Mark!” he indicated, “put your arm under!”  
Mark grunted but shuffled himself over to do as instructed. Jesse looked down at his hands, also an angry red and starting to blister.  
“Jesse?” Carey called on him too.

Taylor’s eyes shot open and he instantly shot up in bed, startling Natalie. Before she could ask he was already out of bed and heading for the door.  
“Tay?!”  
He rushed down towards the kids’ rooms, quickly checking on the boys first. When he saw that they were all still in bed asleep he quickly checked on the girls. By the time he was satisfied that they were all still sleeping peacefully, Natalie had found him.  
“Tay what is it?” she struggled to get out, unnerved but still fighting off fatigue.  
“Nothing,” he quickly closed the girls’ door.  
“Nothing?” she frowned, looking at where his hand stayed on the doorknob, “it doesn’t look like nothing.”  
He scratched his head as he looked back down the hall before pulling her back toward the bedroom.  
“It was nothing,” he insisted, “just a bad dream. Go back to sleep.”  
She sighed to herself, wondering how she was supposed to after being frightened like that. She felt as though they’d finally gotten back into a rhythm that didn’t involve being always on edge, and now he’d singlehandedly changed that yet again.  
She was just pulling the bedsheets aside when Ellie started to cry.  
“I got her,” Taylor assured, heading for her crib.  
Natalie checked the time. It was nearing 4am.  
“She might want a feed,” she suggested as Taylor gently lifted her into his arms.  
“I’ll take care of it,” he insisted, “go back to sleep.”  
Natalie decided not to argue and got back into bed. Taylor took Ellie out into the kitchen where he started preparing a bottle. While he waited for the microwave he made his way to the window, casting his eyes out across the backyard. The shadows began to play with his vision and he had a harder time shaking the feeling off.  
The microwave beeped and he concentrated on Ellie instead.  
“Your Mom should be back tomorrow,” he told her softly as he retrieved the bottle and set about testing it one-handed, “and your Dad. Maybe you’ll get some more sleep then.”  
The bottle was just right so he took her to the couch where he settled in to feed her. He fleetingly thought to call Zac, but knew that if he’d managed to fall asleep the last thing he’d want is to be woken up with a random phone call.  
Still trying to calm his nerves, he started to gently hum to Ellie.


	10. Chapter 10

“What if we can’t breathe?” Mark was worried as they emerged from the bathroom.  
Jesse looked around a moment before heading for the bed. There was shattered glass and burning embers all over it, but he managed to rip part of the sheeting into three patches.  
“Use this,” he handed one to Mark and one to Carey, using the third to cover his nose and mouth.  
Mark coughed as he followed suit before cautiously following Jesse from the room. He indicated for Carey to stay behind as they scoped out the damage. In the distance multiple fire alarms were sounding but they still couldn’t hear sounds of anyone remaining alive.  
Jesse made it to the doorway first, instantly spotting the gun left on the inside bench. The smoke from the fire made it hard to see the rest of the room.  
“Is it bad?” Mark coughed from behind him.  
“Find a fire extinguisher,” Jesse waved him on, “you don’t want to see this.”  
Mark gulped at that but headed for the nurse’s office in search. Jesse eyed the burnt body on the bed before casting his eyes to the floor.  
There was no second body.  
“Mark?!” he called out, backing from the room.  
He looked down toward the nurse’s station, but Mark had to have already gone inside. Turning to look back down the hall he froze.  
The clone was standing there, breathing heavily. His white shirt covered in blood and the left side of his body badly burnt. Jesse quickly realised that he was unarmed... but the other clone wasn’t.  
“You look like you need some help,” he raised a hand in a peace effort.  
Evan only tightened his grip on the scalpel and closed the distance between them. Unable to take a deep breath Jesse darted back into the room and grabbed for the gun.  
Evan was on him before he could turn around, his injuries doing nothing to dispel his adrenaline. As Jesse turned to aim the gun Evan managed to knock it out of his hand and back into the corridor.  
“MARK?!” Jesse called out hoping he would hear, “GET THE GUN!”  
Evan was waving the scalpel intimidatingly, and Jesse could tell from the movement that he knew exactly how to use it. He had to be careful.  
Mark had heard Jesse’s voice, but not what he’d said. He had trouble getting the fire extinguisher from its place on the wall but finally managed to dislodge it and head back into the corridor. He paused when he saw the unfolding scene – Jesse wrestling with a half-burnt clone.  
“What the fuck?” he said under his breath.  
It didn’t take him long to see the blade. Or the gun. He dropped the extinguisher and dove for it, the loud clang making Evan look up. The hesitation let Jesse aim a blow at his side before twisting a leg around the back of Evan’s knee and tripping him. He went down as Jesse struggled to find his footing.  
Mark had the gun aimed in time for Evan to grab Jesse’s shirt and use it to pull himself up again. Jesse let out a pained grunt as he felt the blade sink in under his left rib.  
“Jesse lose him!” Mark couldn’t fire without hitting Jesse first.  
Jesse took a firm hold of the wrist that was holding the blade, but he didn’t have the strength to break any bones. He felt the blade move before it released and he managed to shove Evan backward.  
“DO IT!” he yelled, falling back against Carey’s broken window himself, “KILL HIM!”  
Mark aimed and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.  
“No no no!” Mark quickly checked that the safety was indeed off as Evan returned to his feet, aiming again for Jesse.  
Thinking quickly, Mark ditched the gun and retrieved the fire extinguisher. Before Evan could aim for Jesse with the scalpel again Mark had hit him square in the jaw. Evan fell back into a cloud of smoke as Mark prepared to hit him again if he had to, before a silhouette emerged from the smoke behind him.  
Keandre dug the scissors into the healthy side of Evan’s neck and pulled them back just as fast. It was obvious to both Jesse and Mark that he’d cleanly hit Evan’s jugular as the blood started to rain. Keandre made sure as Evan grasped for the wound that he wouldn’t stand long enough to come for any of them, and he soon collapsed back into the doorway of Damien’s room.  
Keandre stared down at him as if daring him to move again, but he was down for good this time.  
“Merci,” Jesse gasped between breaths, still having trouble breathing through the smoke.  
Mark took a moment to comprehend what had happened before finally setting the fire extinguisher going. He took care of the flames in the hallway first before checking the side rooms.  
Keandre stepped over Evan’s body and went to Jesse’s side. He spotted the wound instantly and knelt to tend to it.  
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Jesse insisted, attempting to push him away, “it’s not that deep. Go check on Carey.”  
He pointed toward the door to Carey’s room. Recognising the name, Keandre skirted the body of the nurse and soon found him in the room.  
“Whoa,” Carey’s brow went up when he saw Keandre’s eyes.  
“You are okay?” Keandre asked him, visually checking him over.  
“I’m fine,” Carey pulled himself together enough to reply, “where’s Mark?”  
“He is… fire,” Keandre frowned, trying to make a motion for the extinguisher, “he is okay.”  
Carey nodded, his eyes going to the door.  
“You’re French?” he couldn’t help himself.  
“Oui.”  
Keandre went back to the door, stooping to the nurse and pulling her body back into the room. Now that the doorway was clear Carey could wheel himself out if he wanted to.  
“We should out,” he insisted as he returned to Jesse’s side, Mark appearing from the other direction.  
“Anyone else finding it weird that no one’s come to help us yet?” he raised a brow.  
“We don’t know how far this spread,” Jesse looked up at him, not bothering to move otherwise, “you need to go find Alex. Damien said he’s in his room on the first floor with a clone named Joseph.”  
“Right,” Mark looked around for where the gun had fallen.  
Even if it didn’t work it might still help them.  
“Take Keandre with you,” Jesse watched him pick it up.  
“How about no?” Mark countered, “I’m not leaving you and Care to fend for yourselves. Plus I kinda feel like we’ve invited Charles Manson to join the clone club.”  
Jesse’s eyes went to Keandre. He didn’t appear to get the reference.  
“Be careful,” Jesse insisted.  
“Not my strong suit but we’ll see how it goes,” Mark muttered.  
The way to the elevator was blocked so he headed for the opposite stairwell instead.

“What if the building’s on fire? What if we can’t get out?!” Joey was fretting.  
They could easily hear the alarms from their room.  
“We’ll get out,” Alex assured, surprisingly calm, “this could actually help us.”  
“How?!”  
“Watch.”  
Alex made a few adjustments to his coding and Joey heard the door beep. Shooting Alex a questioning glance, he bolted for the door and tried the handle.  
“It’s open!” he exclaimed, Alex immediately jumping from the chair to follow him, “what did you do?!”  
“The emergency system kicked in and I was able to override the locks,” he quickly explained, “every door in the building should be unlocked.”  
In the corridor they found confused guards in the process of evacuation. Before they could be sighted Alex quickly headed in the opposite direction. Joey didn’t hesitate to follow.  
Alex had trouble working out exactly where he was going considering he’d only been there once before, but soon managed to find the guest quarters. He quickly knocked on the door he’d come to, forcibly stopping himself from just opening the door.  
“What are we doing here?” he jumped when he realised Joey was still behind him.  
“Checking on someone,” Alex blushed slightly, “hopefully she’s not here.”  
He knocked again before he couldn’t contain himself any longer and just opened the door. The room was empty.  
“She’s gone,” he verbally confirmed, “we should get out too.”

Emma hugged herself as she stood at the edge of the driveway, looking up at the building with wide eyes. She could tell that the blast had come from Carey’s direction and the prospect of him being involved had her feeling sick to her stomach. She’d tried to get answers from anyone that came near but she’d been offered nothing. In her frustration she took out her cell phone and dialled Zac’s number.  
“Hello?” a groggy answer came.  
“Hey, sorry to wake you. It’s Emma. Carey’s Emma?”  
“Emma, hi…”  
“Look something’s happened, and you might want to get down here as soon as you can… How far away are you?”  
“I can be there in about ten minutes. Are you guys okay?”  
“I don’t know,” Emma’s voice broke, “just please hurry.”

Mark was coughing as he returned to the group, Carey now having wheeled himself out of the room to join them in the corridor.  
“Stairwell’s blocked,” he informed them, “we can’t get out that way.”  
“I was hardly going to get down stairs anyway,” Carey reasoned, “but we need to get out before we suffocate in here.”  
“I’ll try and find a window to break open but I don’t remember seeing any,” Mark admitted.  
“Window?” Keandre repeated, “no, other.”  
Mark paused, trying to work out what he meant.  
“We didn’t get that,” Jesse said for him.  
Keandre rolled his eyes, unsure of how to translate what he wanted to say.  
“Évacuation d'air,” he gave up.  
“We do need air,” Mark’s brow rose.  
Keandre grunted to himself before stepping past them and disappearing down the corridor. The twins shared a glance before looking to Jesse.  
“Follow him,” he insisted.  
“We’re not going anywhere,” Carey assured.  
Mark hesitated, but grit his teeth and followed the Frenchman. He hadn’t gone far. He was in an office that held an outside wall and was using a paperweight to try and break the covering over an air vent.  
“Oh _vent_ ,” Mark realised, “I’ll bring them down here.”  
Keandre ignored him as he went back to fetch Carey and Jesse. Carey was easily able to push himself along – Jesse was going to be more of a problem.  
“Put your arm around my shoulder,” Mark instructed, leaning down to try and pull him up.  
“Other side,” Jesse insisted, “my right.”  
Mark adjusted himself and was soon able to pull Jesse to his feet. Carey led the way to the office by which time Keandre had the vent clear and had stuck his head inside to test the air clarity. He indicated for them to join him but Mark set Jesse down on an office chair.  
“Can one of us fit up there?” Carey suggested, seeing how wide the vent was.  
Mark went to Keandre’s side to check.  
“Maybe,” he judged, “but shouldn’t we be heading down, not up?”  
“They’re going to get to this floor eventually,” Jesse tried to reason, “if we’ve got air, we might as well stay here. Wait for them to come to us.”  
“Nothing else is going to blow up, right?” Mark frowned.  
“They make a point of keeping anything flammable away from the infirmary,” Jesse assured.  
“’Cos that worked so well.”  
“Are we stay?” Keandre looked between them.  
“We might not have a choice,” Carey shook his head, eyeing the way Jesse was holding his wound.  
It didn’t take him long to notice he was being watched.  
“What can we do to help?” Carey asked, indicating it as Mark went to close the door.  
“Nothing, it’s fine,” Jesse insisted, “it looks worse than it is. I just need to rest.”  
“The floor might be better for that, especially if we’re going to be here a while,” Mark suggested, “here.”  
He came to take hold of him again and help him from the chair.  
“Let’s hope our rescue doesn’t take too long,” Carey chewed on his lip.  
“And that it’s actually a rescue,” Mark added as he set Jesse down, “now that they’re down a few clones they might see this as an opportunity.”  
“For what?” Carey frowned as Jesse started praying under his breath.  
“I don’t know.”


	11. Chapter 11

Zac was apprehensive as he pulled up outside the institute. He only had a vague description of Emma to begin with, and he’d immediately seen what she meant when she’d said they had a situation on their hands. Smoke was pouring from the left side of the third floor and what looked like a hundred evacuees were standing around to watch – most of them wearing lab coats.  
At first glance he couldn’t see any clones among them. He didn’t recognise anyone.  
Awkwardly fumbling with his phone as he stepped away from his truck, he dialled Emma’s number.  
“Zac?”  
“Hey, I’m here,” he was scanning the crowd, trying not to draw attention from the guards in the process, “I’m in the driveway standing by a blue truck?”  
“I see it!”  
Zac struggled to look through the crowd again – the rising sun not quite enough to illuminate faces yet – before seeing a slender figure about his height making her way toward him. He ended the call and moved to meet her.  
“Hey I’m Zac,” he extended his hand.  
“Emma,” she shook it, quickly hugging herself again after.  
“Where is everybody?” his brow furrowed.  
“Third floor,” she looked back at the building, “that’s Carey’s side of the third floor. The infirmary.”  
“Damn,” he caught his breath, “so you haven’t heard anything?”  
Emma shook her head and was about to reply when…  
“Emma!”  
Her heart skipped a beat as she looked to the left, berating herself when she saw Alex rather than her husband.  
“Alex?” Zac recognised him immediately, “hey!”  
“Zac?” he was surprised to see him there, “why are you-?”  
“He came to pick up Care,” Emma quickly explained, “but we haven’t heard from him. Did you see him?!”  
“No, sorry,” Alex’s brow furrowed, “has anyone seen Damien?”  
“The doctor one?” Zac looked between them.  
“No one’s been out, none of the clones,” Emma kept her voice down, “I haven’t even seen Morris.”  
“That’s not good,” a voice came from behind Alex.  
He stepped to the side a little so Joey could come through. Zac could feel the blood draining from his face.  
“Who’s this?” Emma was less surprised, but eyeing Alex suspiciously.  
“This is Joey,” Alex introduced, “he’s a friend of Damien’s. We’re kinda worried about him.”  
Joey hushed him, as if they shouldn’t be talking about it.  
“Join the club,” Emma scoffed, “we’re all worried about somebody.”  
“Who… um. Who else was in there?” Zac’s voice broke and he had to right himself.  
Aside from the hair, Joey was the spitting image of a fourteen year old Taylor. It felt like he’d suddenly time warped twenty years and his brother was the age that Ezra was now.  
“Mark, Colin, Jesse…” Emma trailed off.  
“And Keandre,” Alex added, looking back at the building.  
“Right, Keandre,” Zac looked worried again as he followed his eye line, wondering for a moment if he’d brought the Frenchman to his death.

Mark coughed as he wiped sweat from his forehead, knowing that if they weren’t rescued anytime soon he’d have to try and find them some water. The fire was mostly out but he couldn’t stop all of it, and with nowhere else to go the hot smoke was travelling down straight into the room.  
The only one who didn’t seem to be struggling already was Keandre.  
“If we stay here for much longer we’re going to run out of air,” Carey looked his twin in the eye, “the smoke has nowhere to go.”  
“We can’t go into the hall, it’s everywhere!” Mark scorned back.  
“Make some noise,” Jesse said softly, barely heard, “make sure they can find us.”  
Mark looked around for something to use, settling on the extinguisher again. Keandre watched as he took it to the vent and started rattling it inside before making a move to help.

All eyes went to the building again when they heard a commotion. Firefighters had long arrived and set themselves up to fight any breaching flames, but a few of them were now running into the building armed with their axes.  
“Maybe they’ve found them?” Emma was hopeful.  
Alex was biting his nails as he watched, wanting badly to tell them about Evan. Zac was having trouble tearing his eyes away from Joey.  
Being the most on edge already Alex was the first to spot Morris among the crowd. He debated hiding from him at first but soon realised he might be the only person there who actually knew what was happening.  
“Stay with them,” he told Joey before making his way through the crowd.  
Joey folded his arms and stepped back behind Emma. Seeing what was happening Zac moved closer to her to help hide him.  
“Excuse me, Dr Morris?” Alex’s face flushed red, hating to interrupt his organising of other doctors.  
“Mr Bell! Glad to see you safe,” Morris gave him a smile that seemed grossly out of place, “if you don’t mind I’m in the middle of-“  
“It was Evan,” Alex blurted out, in an effort to not be dismissed, “he took Damien in the middle of the night.”  
The doctor’s face immediately fell. He quickly excused himself from the group he was with and put a hand on Alex’s back before leading him off to the side where they wouldn’t be overheard.  
“Tell me what happened,” he demanded, not taking his hand away.  
“Who is that?” Zac was watching them.  
“That’s Morris,” Emma replied, understanding why he’d told Joey to stay behind.  
“That’s Morris?” Zac confirmed, “I haven’t seen him before.”  
“Consider yourself lucky.”

All four of them were startled when they heard voices in the corridor.  
“Finally!” Mark ran for the door.  
He stopped himself before opening it, knowing there was a wall of smoke on the other side. Instead he took to hitting it.  
“HEY! WE’RE IN HERE!”  
Jesse collapsed back against the desk in relief when they finally saw a mask through the window in the door, and Keandre got to his feet. The door opened and Mark flinched backward.  
“How many of you in here?!” the fireman demanded.  
“Four,” Mark coughed in response, “my brother’s in a wheelchair, he can’t walk!”  
“IN HERE!” the fireman called back down the hall before coming into the room with his axe.  
Carey and Keandre both watched as he studied the back wall before he raised the axe and started to try and make a hole.  
“We need to get you out of here,” Mark insisted, coming to Carey’s chair and taking hold of the handles.  
“And go where?! We can’t breathe!” Carey scorned.  
A moment later more firemen appeared, and one of them came straight to Carey’s side when they saw his plight.  
“We need to get him out!” Mark insisted before succumbing to another coughing fit.  
One of them offered Carey an oxygen mask and the chair was taken from Mark. By the time he recovered from coughing Carey had been taken from the room.  
“Go!” Keandre was insisting from nearby.  
“Jesse?!” Mark turned back, knowing Carey was now in good hands.  
“Get your brother out!” he insisted, “I’ll be right behind you!”  
“Go!” Keandre insisted again, “I stay!”  
Mark paused to look between them as the second firefighter offered him a mask.  
“Take care of him,” Mark told Keandre, “get him out of here in one piece.”  
Keandre didn’t respond. Mark locked eyes with Jesse instead before taking the mask and following Carey out.  
Keandre waited until he was gone before kneeling at Jesse’s side. They both watched as the first fireman continued his attack on the inner wall. He’d nearly broken through enough to give them more air.  
“You are not fine,” Keandre said without looking at him.  
Jesse sighed to himself, looking down at where he was still holding the wound. Keandre was the only one to notice how far buried his pointer finger was into it.  
“I’ll be fine,” Jesse insisted, half talking to himself.  
Keandre fell silent to continue watching the fireman as Jesse leant back against the desk and closed his eyes. He moved his finger slightly and felt his body jolt.  
“I’m coming for you baby.”

“CAREY!” Emma exclaimed, running for the building when she saw her husband emerging.  
Zac put a hand on Joey’s shoulder to stop him from following. Alex was still conferring with Morris.  
A second fireman emerged with the folded wheelchair and quickly unfurled it in time for the first to set Carey down into it. A second later Mark came through the door still coughing.  
Emma’s arms were around Carey before he could fully comprehend being free from the building.  
“Emma?!” he immediately hugged her back.  
Mark handed the mask back and insisted he needed no further help. He was directed to a waiting ambulance before the fireman returned to the rescue. The one who’d carried Carey out decided to stay with them.  
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Emma rushed to say before planting a kiss on his lips.  
Mark looked up at where the smoke was billowing out before casting his eyes out over the crowd. He was taken by surprise when Emma suddenly hugged him.  
“Hey,” he said awkwardly.  
“I’m glad you’re okay too,” she said into his shoulder.  
“Thanks.”  
“Zac’s here,” she said as she stood back, “we should see if we can leave.”  
“Jesse and Keandre are still in there,” Mark indicated the building, “we gotta make sure they get out okay.”  
“What happened?!”  
Mark and Carey shared a glance.  
“It’s a long story,” Carey insisted, not even realising he was suddenly in the paramedics’ sights, “I’ll fill you in later.”  
Emma and Mark both stepped back as two paramedics suddenly swamped him, one taking the wheelchair and starting to push him back toward the waiting ambulance. Mark made to hug himself before suddenly remembering the burn on his arm and wondering if he should follow his brother.  
“Have you seen Alex?” he asked instead.  
“He’s talking with Morris over there,” Emma indicated toward the front of the building, “I don’t know why.”  
“Never mind,” Mark shrugged off, “I should probably get this seen to.”  
He was about to walk to the ambulance when the door behind them opened again. This time Keandre emerged along with the firefighter that had led Mark out.  
He removed the mask with a slight splutter before taking a moment to catch his breath. His eyes were watering from the smoke.  
“Is that Keandre?” Emma asked, unsure.  
His white shirt was stained with an awful amount of blood.  
“Yeah,” Mark immediately made his way over.  
Keandre looked up when he heard footsteps.  
“Where’s Jesse?” Mark demanded, looking between he and the fireman, “he said he was coming next!”  
“Stay calm,” the fireman insisted, quickly removing his mask.  
“What for?” Mark scowled, “why aren’t you-“  
The door opened again, the last fireman emerging. As he started to remove his mask as well Mark felt an icy chill creeping through his chest.  
“Where’s Jesse?” he repeated, looking to Keandre now that the Frenchman had recovered somewhat.  
“He stay,” he was looking him dead in the eye.  
“What do you mean?” Mark frowned, “why would he stay?! He couldn’t breathe up there!”  
“He stay because he gone,” Keandre tried to explain, a sympathetic look on his face, “he was hurt.”  
Mark forgot to breathe for a moment. Instead of responding he backed away, looking up at the building again.  
“No,” he gasped to himself, “he can’t have. He was fine. He said he was _fine_.”  
“He was not fine,” Keandre rebutted, “he was hurt big. He not say anything.”  
“We gotta go back in,” Mark was shaking his head, and he instantly headed for the door.  
Keandre roughly grabbed him by the shoulder to hold him back, the fireman coming to help him. Mark threw them off.  
“We’ve gotta get him out of there!” Mark scowled, “you don’t even know what the fuck I’m saying!”  
“He is gone,” Keandre said slower, staring Mark down to show that he _did_ understand.  
Mark bit into his bottom lip, fighting not to let his eyes well up.  
“Mark? What is it?” Emma appeared at his side, realising something was wrong.  
Mark tried but couldn’t respond and headed for the ambulance instead.  
“Keandre what’s wrong?” Emma demanded, taking in his blank stare.


	12. Chapter 12

The ride back to Tulsa was mostly in silence. Zac didn’t bother with the radio, despite feeling fatigue setting in again. He hadn’t bothered to call Taylor or Natalie because he wasn’t sure of what he should say. He was dreading the morning phone call he was bound to get.  
Carey was set up in the back seat, his eyes closed as he tried to nap. Emma sat in the front playing with her phone. Zac hoped she was texting Natalie so that he wouldn’t have to.

Keandre, Alex, Joey and another clone they hadn’t met previously were rounded up and put in the back of one of the ominous white vans where they sat waiting for hours. Alex was unnerved by the state of Keandre because he hadn’t had a chance to change clothes, and Keandre was transfixed on Joey and the other clone. They looked the same age but appeared very different. While Joey was obviously upset at the night’s events, the other came across calm and stoic.

Mark had been confined to the ambulance once Morris had arrived on scene. He was quick to make sure all of the clones were out of sight before the general panic calmed down enough for people to notice anything out of the ordinary. The four firemen involved had also disappeared before anyone had noticed. The paramedics gave Mark a quick assessment before sending him on his way to the nearest hospital where he’d receive treatment for the second-degree burns down his arm. He would have been worried about going there on his own if it weren’t for the handlers sent with him. Morris wasn’t about to let him out of sight.  
The last thing Mark wanted was time alone to think, but he got a lot of it while waiting in emergency.

Zac was just passing Atoka when the call from Natalie came. Resisting the urge to let the kit answer the call he put the phone to his ear.  
“Hey.”  
“Hey… we were getting worried. We thought we would have heard from you by now.”  
“Sorry, we’re just on our way back. Another two or three hours and we’ll be there.”  
“Is everything okay? You sound a bit off.”  
Zac shot a glance across at Emma who was watching him in silence. Carey had long fallen asleep in the back.  
“I’ll explain when I get there but we’re okay,” he assured, “Carey’s sleeping and Emma’s right here.”  
“Hey Natalie!” she leant over to call out, making Zac smile a little for the first time in days.  
“Say hi back,” Natalie mused.  
“Hi back,” Zac smirked, making Emma sit back again, “I’ll get her to text you when we’re just outside of Tulsa.”  
“Okay great. See you soon.”  
“Bye,” Zac hung up before setting the phone aside.  
He immediately wondered if it had been such a good idea as he once again focused on the road.  
“What is it?”  
He winced when he realised Emma had been watching him. He quickly looked in the mirror to make sure Carey was still asleep.  
“I didn’t want to say anything in case it was just me,” he admitted, “but that truck three back has been following us since Dallas.”  
Emma immediately looked in the mirrors.  
“I wasn’t sure until we stopped for gas and he waited for us.”  
“Is it someone from the labs?” Emma suggested, “making sure we get to Tulsa maybe?”  
“I don’t know, I’ve never dealt with them before,” Zac admitted.  
“Me neither. They usually just took Carey when he was alone.”  
Zac glanced in the mirror again, hiding his nerves like a pro.  
“They don’t seem to be making a move, so…”  
“I might stop just outside of Tulsa and see what happens,” Zac suggested, “we don’t want them following us all the way to Tay’s. They shouldn’t have to from what I hear anyway.”  
Emma chewed on her lip, unsure of the tactic. But with Carey in no state to run she was hoping she could trust their driver’s judgement.

It was nearing lunch when they arrived at the outskirts of Tulsa. Zac pulled into a McDonald’s as Emma woke Carey, keeping an eye out in case the truck in question followed. Carey was oblivious as he stirred and put in his food order. Zac got out to stretch his legs as Emma made her way inside, not at all surprised to see the truck pulling in behind them. It was larger than Zac’s truck and looked like it had been plucked straight from a scrap heap, but there was only the driver inside. It had South Carolina plates.  
Wondering if he should have brought a gun with him Zac stood his ground as it parked a few spaces over and the driver got out. He was slightly taller than Zac but broader across the shoulders, wearing plaid and a trucker’s cap.  
“I take it that’s not Jesse either?” he assumed, Zac immediately taken aback.  
Carey looked over his shoulder at the sound of the voice. Seeing the man approaching Zac he tried to sit himself up in the seat.  
“Who’s asking?” Zac frowned, still standing his ground.  
The man stared him down for a moment before casting his eyes to Zac’s truck again. He locked eyes with Carey.  
“Let’s just say a friend,” he focused on Zac again.  
“Considering the circumstances, you’ll have to do better than that,” Zac insisted, “so who’s asking?”  
“I don’t have time for bullshit,” he hit back, “Jesse called me from Tulsa saying he needed my help. I get there and I find this guy who looks like him but ain’t him. He tells me to go to this DIGER place in Dallas. I get there and the place is ablaze.”  
Zac knew right away that he was talking about Taylor. He was already berating his brother in his head for not telling him about said meeting.  
“I see you driving out with him,” he pointed toward the truck, and Carey, “and I think finally, I’ve found him. Considering it’s taken you five hours to notice I was following you, I’m suddenly not so sure.”  
“It didn’t take five hours,” Zac scorned defensively, “we thought you were from the lab.”  
“So what’s going on at the lab? And where is Jesse?”  
“Jesse’s dead.”  
Zac turned to where Carey had put the window down. The man with him narrowed his eyes.  
“He died in the blast. He was trying to save us,” Carey had to forcibly keep his voice steady.  
Zac stepped back as the man pushed past him.  
“You’re sure?” he demanded.  
“I was there,” Carey confirmed, “he never made it out.”  
“So his body is still there?”  
“Yeah,” Carey frowned, not thinking the conversation could have gotten weirder already.  
The man turned to walk away.  
“But good luck getting it!” Carey called after him, making him pause.  
Zac wanted to ask why he would want it to begin with, but he also didn’t want to know. The man turned back rubbing his face.  
“Why?” he demanded.  
“Because it’s what they want,” Carey scorned, “they had two of our bodies there waiting for us to die so they could cut us open, you think they’d ever consider letting his go?!”  
“I’ll take care of that,” he assured, starting to head for his truck again.  
Zac watched him leave mostly to make sure that he wouldn’t come back. The truck pulled out of the car lot at top speed and while Emma appeared from the door Zac turned on Carey.  
“Who was that?” he demanded.  
“How should I know? I’ve never seen him before!” Carey frowned.  
“What happened?” Emma asked gingerly, coming to Zac’s side of the truck, “I waited inside until he was gone.”  
“He’s a friend of Jesse’s, according to him,” Carey replied, “he must know him from the army or wherever Jesse was.”  
“Did he think you were Jesse?” Emma frowned in return.  
“Maybe at first, but not when we stopped,” Zac scratched his head.  
“Where’s he gone?”  
“Back to Dallas is my guess, he just wasted eight hours,” Carey shrugged, reaching out for the food.  
Emma sifted through to find his order and handed it to him as Zac opened the truck door.  
“Speaking of wasting time…” he hinted.  
“Let’s just get to Taylor’s already,” Carey insisted, Emma giving him a nod before going back to her door.

The mood in the room was somber. It was nearing dark and Zac had been avoiding calls from Kate, but Natalie had kept her informed on what was going on. Ellie hadn’t left Emma’s arms for more than an hour since they’d been reunited. Carey was wary of holding her with his broken hand.  
“I remember the first time I met him,” his face and eyes were red, the wheelchair positioned at the side of the couch where Taylor and Natalie sat, “I drove by myself from LA out to Shreveport two or three days after talking to Chelsea on the phone. I’d tried for weeks before that but he’d been deployed. The first time Chelsea thought it was a prank call.”  
He smirked to himself.  
“And she was almost right, I hung up the first time because I didn’t know what to say.”  
“So Jesse was first?” Taylor asked softly.  
“Yeah,” Carey nodded, “he was. Colin was a year later.”  
He cleared his throat.  
“When he first laid eyes on me he just smiled,” Carey smiled in turn, “like he’d been hiding all this time and had finally been caught. He said we changed his life. He said he’d…”  
He paused, trying to find the words.  
“He said he’d always been alone, and he wouldn’t have to be anymore.”  
Emma reached up from where she was sitting on the floor to take hold of his hand.  
“So he saw you like brothers?” Zac asked from the opposite arm of the couch, “right from the start?”  
“I think so,” Carey frowned, “he was kind of like the rest of them before… they knew about Taylor and sort of thought that maybe they were long-lost twins or something, but when Jesse found out the truth it was like relief. It wasn’t fear like we had. He wasn’t worried about people coming for him or of being locked away. Of course we didn’t really find out what he did for a living until later.”  
Taylor jumped and looked over his shoulder when he sensed someone behind them. Ezra had appeared from the kitchen.  
“Dad? We’re getting kinda hungry…”  
“I’ll take care of it,” Natalie assured, patting Taylor’s leg before getting up from her seat.  
“I’ll help,” Zac followed her from the room.  
Carey rubbed his face before looking down at Ellie. Taylor didn’t know what to say.  
“I think I need a moment,” Carey took his hand from Emma’s.  
“Do you need some help?” Emma offered as he started to back the chair away.  
“No, I’ll be fine,” he insisted, “I’ll just check my phone and see if Mark or Alex called.”  
Both Emma and Taylor watched as he headed for the dining area where his phone sat on the table, not saying a word as he passed Zac and Natalie in the kitchen.  
“Are you okay?” Emma startled Taylor by asking, “I know we’ve known him for longer but… I heard you were close.”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor frowned, avoiding eye contact, “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet to be honest.”  
Emma nodded before returning her attention to Ellie.  
“Uh… guys?!” Carey suddenly called, “there’s someone in your yard!”  
Zac and Natalie’s eyes both shot up to see Carey staring out the back windows. Zac darted around from the kitchen bench to see what he was looking at as Taylor jumped up from the couch. By the time Zac got there first, the back door had opened.  
A man about Taylor’s height with greying hair and beard stepped through. Carey couldn’t push himself back fast enough, sure the labs were here to take them away again.  
“Oh my…” Natalie covered her mouth.  
“Dad?!” Zac frowned just as Taylor entered the room, “what are you doing here?!”


End file.
